YouTube Can't Be Liable on Copyright, Spain Rules

A Spanish court sided with Google in a dispute with the broadcaster Telecinco, saying Google's online video-sharing service, YouTube, did not have to screen television clips for potential copyright violations before posting them on the site.

The decision, by a commercial court in Madrid, follows a similar ruling in the United States in June, when a judge rejected copyright infringement claims against YouTube by the media company Viacom. Like the American court, the judge in Madrid said YouTube was not liable as long as it removed copyrighted material when notified by the rights holder. "This win confirms what we have always said: YouTube operates within the law," Google said. Telecinco, a subsidiary of Mediaset, the Italian media conglomerate controlled by the family of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said it would appeal the Madrid decision, noting that the judge had recognized the company's need to protect its copyrighted material.