YouTube’s
Summary Judgment Motion Against Viacom
This site contains the declarations and supporting exhibits filed by YouTube in support of
its motion for summary judgment. For a full summary of our position, please see our brief.
Updated June 23, 2010
The judge has granted our motion for summary judgement.
For more info see our blog
post.
Updated May 21, 2010
Additional documents unsealed today by the Court with the parties’ opposition briefs. Read a
copy of YouTube’s opposition brief.
Selected highlights
Viacom now argues YouTube is like Grokster, but Viacom has previously stated that comparison
is false.
- Viacom’s General Counsel Mike Fricklas: “The difference between YouTube’s behavior and
Grokster’s is staggering.” Fricklas: “User generated content appears to be what’s driving
[YouTube] right now.” [Exhibit 173]
Viacom embraced the DMCA for its own video hosting services, until it decided to sue.
- Viacom lawyers: “User generated content should never be monitored. Something that can’t
bear enough repeating is that the User Abuse Team and Atom Entertainment in general, does not
and should not, actively monitor any of its web sites for content violations regarding
content submitted or generated by its users.” [Exhibit
103]
- “As a passive conduit, we cannot monitor user websites, but we respond to breaches of our
Terms of Service when we learn of such behavior.” [Exhibit
103]
- “Actively monitoring the site or or exercising editorial control over the content that
gets uploaded violates the DMCA and has tremendously bad implications for the company and
employees at Atom Entertainment.” [Exhibit 106]
Viacom encouraged fans to watch and download South Park on the Internet wherever it could be
found.
- FAQ from Viacom website related to South Park: “Matt and Trey do not mind when fans
download their episodes off the Internet; they feel that it’s good when people watch the show
no matter how they do it.” [Exhibit 72]
Viacom’s top executives were obsessed with buying YouTube, insisting the site was critical to
the business.
- Viacom CEO Tom Freston: “If we get UTube… I wanna run it”; MTV Networks Chairman Judy
McGrath: “You’ll have to kill me to get to it first.” [Exhibit 188]
- McGrath: “Help us get YouTube. We cannot see it go to Fox/NBC.” [Exhibit 187]
- McGrath: “I WANT TO OWN YOUTUBE. I think it’s critical, and if it goes to a
competitor.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” [Exhibit 174]
- McGrath: “We have to buy YouTube...this is our MySpace play, only better.” [Exhibit 185]
- When Google announced its acquisition of YouTube, Viacom proposed throwing in MTV
Network’s entire library of content to get in on the deal: “Google and YouTube....shouldn’t
Viacom/MTVN get into this deal? Throw in our ENTIRE library.” [Exhibit 190]
Viacom executives and agents – including Head of Viacom’s monitoring and take down efforts at
BayTSP – admit they are unable to tell whether a Viacom video on YouTube is authorized to be
there.
Viacom’s stealth marketing efforts continued even after it filed the lawsuit.
New Declarations:
March 18, 2010
Our public statement is available on the YouTube blog.
Viacom’s Distortions
Viacom’s Spin vs. Fact
What People Are
Saying
Quick Trip Through Viacom’s Documents
YouTube Declarations
Deposition Testimony
Exhibits
YouTube’s
Summary Judgment Motion Against Viacom