Rich Fiscus
11 Aug 2007 5:47
Veoh, an online video-sharing site, has decided to pre-emptively sue Universal Music Group. The online video site appears to be trying to send a clear message that they won't be intimidated into a royalty deal by the music giant.
Veoh Networks, based in San Diego, filed the federal lawsuit yesterday, asking a judge to declare that the company has no liability to Universal even if individuals upload videos to the Veoh site that may contain music, used without permission, from Universal artists.
The company was appearently sent a letter by Universal stating that they might besued because of Veoh users “massively infringing” its copyrights. According to the suit, Universal hasn't provided any details about specific infringement so they could investigate and take action as appropriate.
"It is unfortunate that U.M.G. prefers to take actions that are designed to stifle innovation, shut down new markets and maintain the status quo instead of working to change and evolve models for today and the future,” Veoh’s chief executive, Steve Mitgang, said in a statement.
There are suspicions that Universal is trying to repeat its success in getting a licensing agreement with YouTube. In that case, Universal threatened to sue, but later backed down when the two sides reached an agreement out of court. .”
Still, threatening lawsuits seems like a strange way to start a dialogue. From the outside it looks more like an attempt to scare Veoh into agreeing to terms that aren't in their best interest, simply to avoid a costly lawsuit.
Source: The New York Times