French Court Sides With Google in YouTube Case

A French court on May 29 dismissed a copyright lawsuit against Google’s online video-sharing platform, YouTube, in a case that has parallels with the long-running struggle between YouTube and Viacom in the United States.

The Tribunal de Grande Instance declared that YouTube, which lets people post videos to the site, had made sufficiently adequate efforts to remove programs like “Heroes” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” for which TF1, the biggest television company in France, owned French broadcasting rights. TF1 had sought €141 million, or $176 million, in damages. Instead, it was ordered to pay €80,000 for Google’s legal expenses. The decision “represents a victory for the Internet and for all those who depend on the Web to exchange ideas and information,” said Christophe Mueller, YouTube’s head of partnerships for Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.