NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York is siding with Google in a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by media company Viacom over YouTube videos.
Viacom Inc. had alleged that YouTube, which Google Inc. bought in 2006, built itself into a successful video-sharing site by promoting the unlicensed use of video taken from Viacom cable channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
But U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton ruled in favor of Google in a summary judgment Wednesday, saying that YouTube removed illegal video promptly as required by federal copyright law.
Viacom says it will appeal.