Whats everyones thoughts on Viacom?

Viacom is in their time of the month again and are going after Youtube.I was told by a user that youtube is getting sued by Viacom over my Youtube videos.But,it was probably a scare,but now Viacom is trying to sue Youtube for like $1 billion!And now,chances are,according to Kevin(Capn) Viacom is tyring to get our personal info! (On Youtube).

CapnOAwesome's Vids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G544gAWxEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0TBSssEqRg


Viacom is pissing me off...bastards invaiding my provacy and the privacy of others. <_<

tHere are other videos too,and trhis one I felt is the best:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJbCWJNQUYI&feature=related

I forgot where I read it, but it is kinda true what you were saying about Viacom going 'after' the users.

Basically, when you post material from other sources (films, tv shows, etc.) it isn't your original material, so it can be considered copyright infringement, which is why Viacom is suing Youtube in the first place.

However, as of right now it doesn't seem as if Viacom is seeking lawsuits against users, just trying to shut them down and block them from continuing to break copyright laws. Viacom has requested a list of all YouTube users, along with the IP addresses of the users, and the videos each user is watching. Whether or not the request will be approved in court is unknown, and what Viacom's actual intentions are is also unknown. Google (owner of YouTube) is fighting against releasing the list.

Similar lawsuits for copyright infringement have taken place before (BearShare, LimeWire, etc.) and individual users have been sued for illegally downloading media. One of my fraternity brothers was sued for $250,000 because of illegal downloads, and ended up settling outside of court, but still had to pay $50,000. My college has set up internet access so that if you have LimeWire or BearShare your computer will be denied internet access, and you will have to pay a fee to get reconnected, otherwise they would lose federal funding.

I know a lot about this topic, so if you have any questions or need more clarification, just post and I will try to help you out.

Blah! Jerks.

not to sound rude or anything, but how does it make them jerks, when what they are doing is perfectly legal?

I'm on Viacom's side for this. When people illegally download media, or post creative material of other peoples', then that is breaking the law. Nobody seems to take copyright laws seriously anymore, and everyone thinks that there is nothing wrong with illegal downloads, but it is theft, and those who worked hard to produce the material aren't getting recognition or payment for their services. Hopefully Viacom's lawsuit against YouTube will open up a lot of peoples' eyes to the crimes they are committing.

But Louis Stanton is making it fine for Viaocm to get our personal information On Youtube.And I know many people on Youtube don't know if what they are watching is copyrighted material.I have lost two accounts on Youtube because of copyright infringment and what Viacom is doing is crazy.

What Viacom is doing is an invasion of pivacy and should be totally illgeal,unless it is.But I understand why the copyright issue is being taken so seriously.I learned that the hard way when I got an F on a science essay,which almost failed me for the year,because I 'suppostly' plagerized Wikipedia.

But chosing what is copyrighted and whats not is for youtube to decide,not a corperation such a Viacom.It is hard for me to be against Viacom,since I have many products that are from Viacom,such as movies from Dreamworks,Nickelodeon,Comedy Central and I watch a lot of stuff on Mtv.What Viacom is doing will give people a reason to boycott it.

I'm on CapnOAwesome's side in the fight.Suspending accoutns for copyright infringment is one thing.Suing Google and Youtube $1 billion is another.But trying to get our personal information,and invaiding our privacy is another.The video I posted by therealweeklynews is how I see Viacom now.

Well if you put it like that, you have a point.

What I see is that people may be taking stuff that is not theres and posting them on Youtube, but they are not getting profit from it. Sometimes by doing this creative people get more credibility they get known more through media. And say for like AMV's, you are still using material from someone else, but setting it to music. Will they delete those, they aren't using it for profit, they use it for personal benefit or entertainment and only want to share it with others. Yet more and more these videos are deleted for copyright infringement, when really I don't really see it that way.

You could look at any Youtube video and have a reason to remove it for copyright infringement except those boring videos of people blogging about their lives. The point is, if they close down Youtube it won't stop there, it'll go to Metacafe and other video hosting websites. Now I'm no genius or have any huge vast pool of knowledge on this subject, but what I'd propose is a disclaimer and something like that.

Seeing as Viacom is suffering from losing a large sum of earnings, it is their right to sue YouTube and Google for copyright infringement. YouTube/Google isn't doing their job, which is why they are being sued for damages, the lawsuit could have very easily been avoided. It also isn't up to YouTube to decide what is copyright infringement and what isn't, it's a federal law. YouTube should be protecting the law from being broken, but they aren't.

And unfortunately for you, it isn't up to you to decide if a $1 billon lawsuit is acceptable or not. You see, when you break the law, there are consequences, including fines. When you take into consideration how many times the law has been broken on account of YouTube, and multiply that number by the assessed fines, add in damages, court fees, $1 billion is more of a reasonable amount.

Illegally downloading media, or watching a movie/tv show on YouTube, etc... is the same as walking into Wal-Mart or Blockbuster and grabbing a CD/DVD and walking out without paying. It is all considered theft. And if you aren't willing to walk into a Wal-Mart and steal a CD, then you shouldn't be willing to illegally download music. And if you get caught doing either, you should be prepared to suffer the consequences, and pay the respected fees. Its the same case with the YouTube lawsuit.

Viacom's request for user information is being protested by Google, and a decision hasn't been made either way. However, if you're innocent you should have nothing to worry about, and luckily for guilty parties, Viacom isn't seeking individual lawsuits against specific users, which they also legally have every right to do. Go read YouTube's privacy policy. I've quoted some parts for you:

So just by viewing videos on YouTube your IP address is being sent to advertisement sites, but yet people want to complain when Viacom requests user IPs.

Enough said.

So you see, all of the information Viacom is requesting is already collected by YouTube, and as stated in YouTube's privacy policy, its a matter of public record. Therefore your statement about it being an invasion of privacy is false.

Another great quote comes from YouTube's Sign Up page:

Whether people know what they are watching is copyright material or not, those who uploaded it signed up for a YouTube account being notified that uploading such material is illegal. So when you lost two accounts for copyright infringement, that was your own fault, what Viacom is doing is far from crazy, they are trying to get the law implemented.

p.s. when you got in trouble for your science paper, it was because of plagiarism, not because of copyright infringement.

Yeah,I went back and fixed it.Silly me.

Ytwatchdog!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDwG7dVdcyU

That video is funny, but that guy freaks me out. Probably because he looks like the man in the mask from The Strangers :ph43r:

lol.

As of today,I am 67 :)

See, videos like that are what youtube is all about and should be used for. I was laughing so hard.

and this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz-dLa8JOkE&feature=related

YEEEEAAAAH BOOOOYEEEE!!!!!!

the ytwatchdog is god!


RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! ^_^

I've watched a lot of his videos now, and I have to say, he is very entertaining... he is what youtube is about. haha. watch his video on the 8 teens beating up the other girl.

true OG from the hood!

They're so hood G!

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! :lol:

I swear that Britney Mayes girl added me on myyearbook! :o

hahaha

More ytwatchdog randomness

His Bread & His Butter (lulz!!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHYyNO0nWo

So, is Viacom gonna go so far as to attack all sites? I found this site (SurftheChannel.com) and it links to several other sites that hosts videos (including a few that are chinese run) that have movies and tv shows. What might happen to them?

And yes, I do watch them, because sorry, I'm a broke person who has no cable and can't afford a $50 dvd set for most tv shows I'm behind on, so i watch them for free on these other sites.

Oh and BTW, Shay's back, sort of...

Hi Shay :)

I don't know whats going on right now.I'm waiting to hear more about the news thats going on,unless Viacom left us alone ^_^