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ARTICLE · 17 APRIL 2012

Viacom's Copyright Suit Against YouTube Gets A Second Chance From The Second Circuit

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The Second Circuit has ruled that the summary judgment granted last year in favor of YouTube in a copyright suit brought by Viacom and other content owners was premature.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Foley Hoag LLP
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The Second Circuit has ruled that the summary judgment granted last year in favor of YouTube in a copyright suit brought by Viacom and other content owners was premature. The District Court had found that YouTube was protected by one of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's ("DMCA") safe harbor provisions, namely, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c), which shields online service providers from liability for infringing content posted by users. Although it agreed with some of the District Court's central reasoning, the appellate court has sent the case back for reconsideration on a number of issues.

"Red Flag" Knowledge Applies to Specific, Identifiable Infringement

The Second Circuit affirmed the District Court's decision on the main legal question at issue, holding that two different circumstances that can defeat the statutory safe harbor protections – when the defendant has actual knowledge of infringement and when the defendant is "aware of facts and circumstances from which

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