Knowing that their online video service could not compete with YouTube, Google purchased the company to eliminate competition. They received a surprise bonus in the form of copyright infringement lawsuits filed by owners of pirated videos.
In a quarterly filing with the Securities Exchange Commission, Google revealed that they were currently involved in a copyright infringement lawsuit. However, they did not disclose the identity of the party, or parties, that filed the lawsuit.
Google purchased YouTube last month for a reported $1.65 billion after realizing that their efforts to compete with the online video were in vain.
YouTube was conceived only a year ago, and gained iconic status in pop culture thanks to its cult-like following of viewers. They had even already signed agreement with three of the largest music labels in the world: Universal Music, Sony BMG, and Warner Music.
YouTube also fielded countless videos from online contributors, some of which was not actually owned by them. So subsequently when Google purchased YouTube they purchased their copyright infringement lawsuits. Google expected the lawsuits because of the numerous videos from pirated sources as well material, which were owned by others.
Representatives from Google have not released the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit and have yet to make any comments.
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Autmn Davis is a staff writer for murdok covering ebusiness and technology.