In a landmark case of copyright infringement on the Internet, a judge found that Google’s YouTube is shielded from claims of copyright infringement as long as they promptly remove illegal content when notified of a violation. Viacom which owns TV channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, alleged in a lawsuit that YouTube built its business on the backs of unlicensed use of copyright-protected clips stolen from Viacom shows.

According to Eric Goldman, a Santa Clara University associate professor who specializes in high-tech law, the judge “blessed the current state of play on the Internet”.  And, “Without this decision, user-generated content would dry up and the Internet would cease to be a participatory medium,” said David Sohn, a lawyer for the Center for Democracy & Technology.”

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