Mediaset Sues Google, YouTube, Seeking EU500 Million

Mediaset SpA, the television company controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, sued the YouTube video-sharing Web site and its owner Google Inc., seeking “at least'’ 500 million euros ($779 million).

Google and YouTube allegedly carried out the “illegal distribution and commercial use of audio and video files'’ owned by Mediaset, the Milan-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. The lawsuit was filed in a Rome court.

Gestevision Telecinco SA, a Mediaset unit that owns Spain’s most-watched TV station, sued YouTube last month for copyright infringement and illegally posting its video content on the Web.

According to a sample analysis run by Mediaset on June 10, at least 4,643 videos belonging to the company were found on YouTube. That equals more than 325 hours of broadcasting without corresponding rights, the company said.

Mediaset claims that, based on the number of its clips available on YouTube and the hits generated, the broadcaster lost the equivalent of 315,672 broadcasting days.

The claim of 500 million euros corresponds to “immediate damages,'’ Mediaset said in the statement. Lost advertising revenue linked to the videos may add to the amount of compensation demanded, Mediaset said.

“YouTube respects copyright holders and takes copyright issues very seriously,'’ YouTube said in an e-mailed response. “There is no need for legal action and all the associated costs. We prohibit users from uploading infringing material, and we cooperate with all copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content as soon as we are officially notified.'’

– By Chiara Remondini

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