Sue Google Over Copyright? Get In Line

You've undoubtedly seen that Viacom is suing Google over widespread copyright infringement on Google's recent acquisition YouTube. YouTube has been happy to cooperate in removing infringing content once reported, but has aip.org/publishingservices/ebook/AIPXMLebook.pdfbeen unable (unwilling?) to take resonsibility for prohibiting users from posting infringing material.

Does this sound a little familiar? Like publishers suing Google over violating copyright by digitizing books, and Google responding that they'd be happy to exclude any works that they get requests to omit or remove? Except in Google Book Search, it's Google itself that will be doing the deed, not the clueless masses.

Another difference is that YouTube has reached licencing agreements with other content providers, but that talks with Viacom had recently broken down. Not the same approach as that taken with publishers.

Hmmmm....