In a class action lawsuit with US music publisher Bourne, the Premier League has threatened to sue YouTube for alleged copyright infringement.
A letter from the claimant’s legal team said, “Defendants are pursuing a deliberate strategy of engaging in, permitting, encouraging and facilitating massive copyright infringement on the YouTube website.”
More controversially, the class action complaint letter said, “ In a Twenty-First Century embodiment of an old age scheme, Defendants have agreed to provide “protection” against their own infringing conduct through a series of “partnership” agreements with various copyright owners.
“Put another way, when the license fee sought by a copyright owner is low enough to be deemed satisfactory to Defendants, Defendants find themselves able to shed their blinders and employ technology to safeguard the rights of their new “partners”.”
The claimants are being represented by Proskauer Rose LLP and Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger and Grossmann LLP. Named as defendants were YouTube Inc, YouTube LLC and YouTube's corporate parent, Google.
Lawyers representing the English Premier League have likened the activities of YouTube to a “protection” scheme in a legal challenge against the video sharing website.
