subpoena

Is YouTube caving in too soon?

On May 24, lawyers for Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures convinced a federal judge in San Francisco to issue a subpoena requiring YouTube to turn over details about a user who uploaded dialog from the movie studio’s “Twin Towers,” according to a copy of the document.

YouTube promptly handed over the data to Paramount, which on June 16 sued the creator of the 12-minute clip, New York City-based filmmaker Chris Moukarbel, for copyright infringement, in federal court in Washington.

…YouTube chose to turn over the data, rather than simply remove the offending video from its site…

Why did YouTube give up so easily?

Let’s hope that under Google’s auspices, there will be change of heart and users will be protected. But they still should take the necessary steps:

To be sure, Google, which hopes to close the YouTube purchase by year’s end, has already taken steps to reduce the copyright liability it will inherit from the private firm.