NY appeals court concludes a jury may have to decide if YouTube violated Viacom copyrights

NEW YORK — A federal appeals court reinstated a copyright case against YouTube on Thursday, finding that a jury could conclude that the online video service knew it was infringing rights when it allowed the distribution of videos of popular television shows and other programs.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided the case after hearing lawyers several months ago debate whether the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act shields a company like YouTube from broad copyright claims. Google bought YouTube for $1.76 billion in 2006.

I love how everyone's “pleased” with the outcome. O_o

Nonetheless, wonder what this will eventually mean for many file sharing websites and piracy forums, etc.