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According to a report from wired.com and Associated Press, the US $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing site "threatens how hundreds of millions of people exchange all kinds of information on the Internet".
Google's lawyers made this alarming claim in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan as the company responded to Viacom's latest lawsuit and most disturbing legal move - alleging that the Internet has led to "an explosion of copyright infringement" by YouTube and others.
The story notes that this "back-and-forth between the companies has intensified since Viacom brought its lawsuit last year, saying it was owed damages for the unauthorised viewing of its programing from MTV, Comedy Central and other networks".
However Google countered by saying that YouTube "goes far beyond its legal obligations in assisting content owners to protect their works."
