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October 10, 2006
You're gonna need a lawyer, son
It seems the rumors were true after all. Google is to pay $1.65 billion dollars to purchase YouTube. In a lengthy Cnet article, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is quoted with saying that the deal is central to the company's strategy to put video "at the heart of a user's online experience".
Meanwhile internet badboy Mark Cuban, who last week described anyone stupid enough to purchase YouTube as 'a moron' is sticking by his guns saying, "I think there will be subpoenas to get the names of Youtube and Google Video users. Lots of them as those copyright owners not part of the gravy train go after both Google and their users for infringement."
Until now nobody has bothered to go after YouTube for the simple fact that they weren't worth suing. All that will change now that Google has purchased the company. I agree that the lawyers are going to have a field day, although I can't imagine small-scale YouTube users being successfully prosecuted for piracy. I do think that YouTube will make some changes to the way it allows users to download content. Google will probably be in a big hurry to have YouTube sign deals with Hollywood.
How all this is going to impact on YouTube users will be interesting. Will YouTube (as many users have worried since the announcement) start to resemble Google Video? Will there be DRM for Google/YT content? Will users have to give up watching two minute clips from The Daily Show and The Family Guy?
We'll have to wait and see.
Posted by Marcus at October 10, 2006 5:23 PM
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