Viacom Int'l, Inc. v. YouTube
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
676 F.3d 19 (2012)
YouTube (defendant) required uploaders to agree that their content wouldn't infringe copyrights, but Viacom and other copyright owners (plaintiffs) sued for direct and secondary infringement over infringing content on the site, presenting internal YouTube emails and a report referencing well-known infringing videos on the platform. The district court granted YouTube summary judgment under the DMCA's safe harbor, finding YouTube lacked the actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity required under 17 U.S.C. section 512(c)(1)(A), and that such knowledge was also necessary before an ISP could be said to have the right and ability to control infringing activity under section 512(c)(1)(B). The plaintiffs appealed.
Whether safe harbor protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is available only if the provider lacks actual knowledge or awareness of infringing activity, or promptly removes infringing material once it learns of it.