Oopsle! Has Google Goofled?

The Viacom Suit:

Has Googled Goofled?

I had to giggle when I saw the Viacom lawsuit against Google for using their content without permission. Google says they remove unlicensed content as soon as the copyright holder asks them to. To me, that’s like an arsonist blowing out his match when he hears the fire engines coming.

As the world’s foremost search engine, it cannot be difficult for Google to know exactly when copyrighted material is uploaded to YouTube. However, it’s clear that this content generates a lot of traffic to Google/YouTube and they want to exploit this situation as long as they can.

If legislation permits this negative option loophole, it should be revised to protect content owners from this clearly illegal use of their material. And if Google truly wishes to do business with the networks and Hollywood producers in the future, then they need to get this right ethically whatever the letter of the law. Theft is theft.

So come on Google, pay for Viacom and the other content producer’s content. They’re worth it. And you can afford it.