Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Google, Now With A Touch of Evil
Posted by Chris Gohlke in "CONTENT" @ 03:00 AM
"Google is apparently looking to continue the practice of paying off entertainment companies to agree not to sue YouTube, apparently dangling fees of over $100 million to various well-known entertainment companies. The agreement is structured as a "licensing" deal, and the companies would agree not to sue Google over YouTube and give Google about 3 years to figure out how to get the model right. As the article notes, it's an intriguing deal for the entertainment companies, who can't easily pass up $100 million for doing nothing. But, they're also worried about the precedent it sets and the "loss of control" over their content."
You may ask, why does this make Google evil, even if just a touch so? Google had a great opportunity to take a stand on fair use here. They've got enough money to stand on principle and be able to back it up with the best lawyers money can buy. When the little guy gets sued, they usually have no choice but to try and settle because if they lost they could lose everything. In a way though, I do understand why they did it. As a publicly traded company, they lost some control and have a requirement to protect their shareholders.
You may ask, why does this make Google evil, even if just a touch so? Google had a great opportunity to take a stand on fair use here. They've got enough money to stand on principle and be able to back it up with the best lawyers money can buy. When the little guy gets sued, they usually have no choice but to try and settle because if they lost they could lose everything. In a way though, I do understand why they did it. As a publicly traded company, they lost some control and have a requirement to protect their shareholders.
