Digital Home Thoughts: John Battelle's Searchblog: A Brief Interview with EFF's Fred von Lohmann on YouTube, Copyright, Google, and More

"YouTube has already been sued (by LA New Service), so Google is essentially buying that lawsuit. But I don't think that's a problem -- frankly, precedent set against YouTube will likely exert strong influence over the entire video hosting industry. So, in essence, Google is just getting more direct control over a lawsuit that is important for its existing and future business. And when it comes to lawsuits, Google has top-drawer talent (both in-house and in outside law firms), strategic vision, and a stellar track record. Google's executives (like AOL's and Yahoo's before them) understand that shaping the legal precedents is a critical part of their business."

An interesting Q&A from a legal standpoint - though it takes make me somewhat leery reading the way this EFF lawyer talks about Google winning copyright infringement lawsuits as always being a good thing. If I was a creative type who was selling a TV show I created on iTunes, and someone was putting it up in segments on YouTube, I wouldn't be all that happy about it. Not everything that Google does is good, which people seem to forget.