Whats at stake for Google and other Web site operators?
Whichever way U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton rules in the case, expect the loser to appeal. Whenever it does wind its way through the courts, it will help answer a major question: whose job it is to police the Web for copyright violations–Web site operators or content owners? If Google loses, it could also end up paying the $1 billion in damages that Viacom is seeking. Unless forced, YouTube is unlikely to change its piracy-fighting policies. The site in 2008 installed a filtering technology that prevents copyrighted clips from being posted to the site. Since then, it has struck numerous licensing deals with television networks, music labels, and film studios. If Google is held responsible for taking down content before receiving a notification from a copyright owner, such a decision could require sites like eBay and Craigslist to do the same thing, Google claims. They would have to review everything that people attempted to post to the site before publishing, sending costs skyrock
