Google Slams Viacom For Secret YouTube Uploads 307
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Reuters: "Google, Inc. accused Viacom, Inc. of secretly uploading its videos to YouTube even as the media conglomerate publicly denounced the online video site for copyright infringement, according to court documents made public on Thursday."
As "statements from the corporate counsel's office" go, this post on the YouTube blog is pretty hot reading.
Busted (Score:5, Funny)
Oblig quote (Score:5, Funny)
Croupier: "Your winnings, sir.
Re:Viacom - the verb (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Viacom - the verb (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I dont know what is an 'oops' situation if this (Score:4, Funny)
Oooh I've got an idea! (Score:5, Funny)
Dirty thief!
Re:Viacom - the verb (Score:5, Funny)
Re:prove it with documentation, and DMCA can be gu (Score:2, Funny)
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. ?
I'm certain at least some of those words were English, but those were not sentences.
Re:call me naive (Score:5, Funny)
As a PR person I am embarrassed for my profession.
You should be quite used to that.
Re:RTFA, perhaps? Nah, then you can't just say BS. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Can they have it both ways? (Score:1, Funny)
Leave it to Viacom executives to conduct company business using their Gmail addresses. Doh!
Re:I dont know what is an 'oops' situation if this (Score:3, Funny)
For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately "roughed up" the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko's to upload clips from computers that couldn't be traced to Viacom. And in an effort to promote its own shows, as a matter of company policy Viacom routinely left up clips from shows that had been uploaded to YouTube by ordinary users. Executives as high up as the president of Comedy Central and the head of MTV Networks felt "very strongly" that clips from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report should remain on YouTube.
Words...they fails me.
Re:call me naive (Score:5, Funny)
As a PR person I am embarrassed for my profession.
You know what your industry needs? A good PR person to spin your image for you.
Re:Oblig quote (Score:4, Funny)
*AA Lawyer: "Round up the usual suspects."
Re:Oooh I've got an idea! (Score:1, Funny)
Tonight I'm gonna sneak my TV onto my neighbor's yard, and then call the cops on him tomorrow morning.
Face it towards the street. You'll have better chance of him getting sued for publicly broadcasting copyrighted material.
Re:If Viacom wins (Score:5, Funny)
If Viacom wins there isn't anything that cannot be bought.
Even double negatives.
Three Strikes... (Score:2, Funny)
So does this mean that Viacom is out?
Re:Smells like bullshit (Score:5, Funny)
Never, ever screw with a company that's in the business of collecting information. Heck, that's Google's *ONLY* business.
No kidding, can you imagine the resources Google's legal team has to build a case. It's not just the support they get for customized searches of case law. They can get a report of all search terms used by Viacom's legal team. They can see every page loaded that's using adsense. God forbid if viacom is using gmail, google docs, or google voice.
I really take perverse pleasure in imagining Google serving customized goatse ads to Viacom's legal team. "Oh I'm sorry our advanced algorithms determined based on your browsing history that it was relevant to your interests"
Re:Three cheers for good writing (Score:5, Funny)
Indeed, we were taught something called the "term paper method."
When I was in high school, we were taught to write essays using the "three-pronged thesis" method. The main reasons for this are because it produces short essays, the essays are easy to grade and it encourages creativity in coming up with bullshit to fill the third paragraph when used in situations where the third paragraph should be unnecessary.
Three-pronged thesis statements produce short essays because they encourage the writer to produce 5 paragraphs. One paragraph is used for the introduction to the essay. The next three are used to expand upon each "prong" of the thesis, one paragraph per prong. The final paragraph is used to conclude the essay, and usually is nothing more than the introductory paragraph re-worded.
In addition, these essays are easy to grade because teachers can check the essay by scanning it for key parts. Many teachers grade these essays by checking to see if the introductory paragraph does have a three-pronged thesis and that the opening sentence of the next three paragraphs each refers to one prong of that three-pronged thesis. Unfortunately, teachers who rely on this cursory grading may overlook that their students had inserted off-topic references to bananas in their essays.
Finally, three-pronged essays encourage making up bullshit like this paragraph when the essay's subject matter just doesn't require three paragraphs to cover. Seriously, who needs three paragraphs to explain why the kid in The Scarlet Ibis died? Kid had a weak heart and died of a heart attack. It was sad, the end.
In conclusion, three-pronged thesis statements lead to short essays that are easy to grade and full of bullshit. I spent entirely too long writing this thing, and if I never write anything like this again, it will be too soon.
Re:Viacom - the verb (Score:1, Funny)
Whoa, whoa, whoa! We'll forgive you since you're new, but saying stuff like that quickly gets you modded perma-troll. This is your first warning.
Re:Wow. (Score:4, Funny)
Perhaps Google wants not to have billion-dollar lawsuits fabricated and leveled at them.
And remember, folks, lawsuits fabricated is an anagram of aw! fast is lubricated.
Re:Wow. (Score:5, Funny)
And remember, folks, lawsuits fabricated is an anagram of aw! fast is lubricated.
Or Saw fat? I'd lubricate!
Re:Three cheers for good writing (Score:5, Funny)
87 B+
Overall solid essay, clearly written and well organized. Needs a stronger introduction: lead with your thesis statement, not just a topic sentence. Needs citations! Can't get into A-range grade without citing your sources (Wikipedia, or really any encyclopedia, doesn't count). Seemed to go off on a tangent at one point about bananas--was this a typo? Proofread! Argument got weak toward the end--could have used some direct quotes to reinforce your position regarding Doodle's death. A straightforward reading is acceptable, but I think it would have been better if you could have expanded on the context leading you to this interpretation? It may be that the literal causal story is less important than the intent of the author--what emotions in the reader did Hurst try to evoke by telling the story with Doodle dying in the end?
Love,
Your TA
Re:Wow. (Score:3, Funny)
As opposed to figuratively not being able to wait to see? How did they literally not wait between episodes that hadn't been uploaded yet - board a time machine and travel to the future?
Re:Smells like bullshit (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Wow. (Score:5, Funny)
Knowladge is power
Weird. I thought that Knowladge was Powar.
Re:Viacom - the verb (Score:4, Funny)
Car analogy:
You drive Toyota Prius and press the accelerator all the way down. Then you call 911. You enjoy speedy ride. The police does not pull you over. You thank them for saving you life. Then you sue Toyota.
Re:Wow. (Score:4, Funny)