Italian Broadcaster Mediaset Seeks $800 Million From Google, YouTube
Mediaset joins Viacom and French broadcaster TF1 in filing legal action against the video sharing Website.
Mediaset said a sample of YouTube videos found "at least 4,643 videos and clips owned by us, equivalent to more than 325 hours of transmission without having rights," Reuters reported. Mediaset claims they've lost 315,672 days of broadcasting due to YouTube uploads.
The Italian broadcast company is controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The suit was filed in Rome.
"YouTube respects copyright holders and takes copyright issues very seriously," a London-based YouTube spokeswoman told Reuters.
Google issued a separate statement, sticking to its company line and promising to remove the copyrighted material. "There is no need for legal action. We prohibit users from uploading infringing material and we cooperate with all copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content as soon as we are officially notified."
In addition to the approximately $800 million suit facing YouTube filed by Mediaset, Google is also facing a lawsuit from Viacom, which seeks $1 billion in damages.