One of the biggest and longest-running copyright infringement lawsuits in the digital media world has been settled, seemingly with little or no cash changing hands. Yes, Viacom v YouTube is done and dusted: Viacom and Google announced yesterday their settlement of the case, which kicked off in 2007 with the headline-grabbing claim that Viacom was seeking $1bn in damages for pirated content on YouTube. “This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together,” said a statement from the two companies yesterday, without going into detail about the settlement. For all the music industry grumbling about YouTube payouts, the site is a very different entity now under Google’s stewardship than in the early days that were a focus for the lawsuit. Google had also been getting the better of rulings along the way in the case, suggesting that Viacom was wise to settle now. Recode finds a fun human angle: Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman’s son works for Google. “Finally I can go home for Thanksgiving this year!” tweeted Dauman Jr yesterday.
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Tools: Kaiber
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