Ethical Publishing, Copyright Regulations Online

Source: http://cdn.erictric.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YouTube-VS-Viacom-Large-Image.jpg

Viacom, also known as Video & Audio Communications, establishes itself as a public company from Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) on 1971 (Viacom, 2009). Viacom is now one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Viacom owned large media groups such as BET Netweords, CMT Networks, Harmonix that created the game Rock Band, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, VH1 and also Paramount Pictures Corporation (CJR, 2010).

YouTube, the current leader of online video sharing website of the entire globe. YouTube enables anyone to upload videos and share clips over the Internet. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube, people can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual (CrunchBase, 2010).

Although YouTube has countless partnership with content providers such as CBS, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and much more, but on March 2007, Viacom has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube on copyrights law. Copyright is a type of protection supplied by the laws of the United States in order to protect the creator of their original work, which includes different genre such as literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works (Copyright, 2010). With the copyrights, the creator now have special right to reproduce it works, to sell, perform or display it work in public without being afraid his work being copied or stolen (Entrepreneur, 2010).

This is not a small case for the media industry. YouTube have created a platform and helped the people to voice out through sharing videos. YouTube is the leading online video sharing websites, movie trailers, advertisement, music is being shared largely in YouTube that it actually helps the creators in terms of creating fan based and reaching their audience. But in order to “win” this lawsuit against Viacom, YouTube must remove any material violating copyright law (Arcamona, 2010). The lawsuit begin by Viacom ordering YouTube to remove over 100,000 clips from its website (CrunchBase, 2010).

This lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube has exposed a weakness in current copyright laws (Arcamona, 2010). Both Viacom and YouTube lose its viewership. YouTube loses its viewership due to the decrease of videos in the websites, while Viacom loses its viewership due to unable to reach the audience as fast as when YouTube actually creates a platform for it to inform its audience. 

References:

• Arcamona, R 2010, What the Viacom Versus YouTube Verdict Means for Copyright Law, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/07/what-the-viacom-vs-youtube-verdict-means-for-copyright-law183.html>
• Viacom 2009, About Viacom,  online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.viacom.com/aboutviacom/Pages/default.aspx>
• Viacom 2009, History, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.viacom.com/aboutviacom/Pages/history.aspx>
• CrunchBase 2010, Viacom, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/viacom>
• Columbia Journalism Review 2010, Resources: Who Owns What?, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=viacom>
• CrunchBase 2010, YouTube, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.crunchbase.com/company/youtube>
• Copyright 2010, Copyright Basics, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf>
• Entrepreneur 2010, Copyright, online, retrieved by 6th November 2010, from <http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82100.html>