Viacom will sue YouTube for $1bn
Entertainment giant Viacom Media says it will sue web search engine Google and its video-sharing website YouTube for $1bn (£517m).
Viacom, which owns MTV and Nickelodeon, says YouTube uses its shows illegally.
Viacom alleges that about 160,000 unauthorised clips of its programmes have been loaded onto YouTube's site and viewed more than 1.5 billion times.
Google says it is "confident" that YouTube has respected the legal rights of copyright holders.
However the internet search giant saw its shares fall $11.72, or 2.6%.
'Clearly illegal'
As well as more than $1bn in damages, the legal action seeks an injunction to prevent what Viacom calls "massive intentional copyright infringement".
"YouTube's strategy has been to avoid taking proactive steps to curtail the infringement on its site," said Viacom in a statement.
"Their business model, which is based on building traffic and selling advertising off of unlicensed content, is clearly illegal and is in obvious conflict with copyright laws."
Last month, Viacom, which also owns cable networks VH1 and Comedy Central, told YouTube to remove 100,000 "unauthorised" clips.
Viacom said its demand came after YouTube and Google failed to install tools to "filter" the unauthorised video clips following negotiations.
"There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process," it said.
"This is value that rightfully belongs to the writers, directors and talent who create it and companies like Viacom that have invested to make possible this innovation and creativity."
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