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Viacom, Google air dirty laundry in court docs

Court filings released on Thursday in the bitter $1 billion copyright fight between Viacom and Google's YouTube show just how far apart the companies remain, as the 3-year-old case winds through federal court.

Viacom, in 108 pages of court documents, portrays YouTube's founders as reckless copyright violators who were far more concerned with increasing traffic to their site than obeying the law. Even executives at Google, which acquired YouTube for $1.7 billion in October 2006, questioned the ethics of building a site through questionable copyright practices, according to the Viacom filings.

But in the 100-page document filed … Read more

Expect fireworks Thursday in Viacom vs. Google

The copyright showdown between Google and Viacom, parent company of Paramount and MTV, is finally about to start playing out before the public.

Expect fireworks.

Viacom filed a $1 billion copyright complaint three years ago against Google, accusing the search engine of profiting from and encouraging copyright infringement on YouTube. Google denied the allegations and said the Digital Millennium Copyright Act protects the company and all Internet service providers from liability for infringing activity by users. On Thursday, we'll get to see what kind of documentation the two companies possess to support their claims.

Sources close to the case … Read more

Cable sector: Forget the Web, we have VOD

One of the most attractive benefits that Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and other Internet movie services have to offer is that they're a cheaper alternative to paying monthly cable fees.

That may be one of the reasons why the cable companies are going on the offensive. The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing Co-op, a group that includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Sony Pictures, and Universal Pictures announced on Wednesday it plans to spend $30 million on an advertising campaign designed to "expand consumer awareness...of (rental) movies on demand."

The theme of the campaign will be "… Read more

CNET TV Apple Byte: Mac Pro

CNET TV's Brian Tong discusses the latest in Apple news. In this week's Apple Byte, Brian explores the latest iPad rumors and developments, whether you should get the 3G or Wi-Fi-only iPad, the iPhone App of the Week, and rumors about a possible Mac Pro refresh.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Do you have questions, issues, or stories you would like to see on MacFixIt? Email Us.

Privacy concerns derail Netflix contest

Netflix, the Web's top movie-renting service, announced Friday that it has canceled plans to hold a second contest that awards a prize to whoever could come up with the most accurate system of predicting user film choices based on their viewing histories.

In 2006, Netflix launched the Netflix Contest and offered $1 million to anyone who could improve its recommendation engine. In September, the company finally awarded the prize to a team that included three AT&T researchers. To compete, competitors studied millions of demographic data, including age, sex, ZIP code, and previously rented movies.

The Federal Trade … Read more

Documents in Viacom vs. Google unsealed soon

The judge overseeing the copyright fight between Viacom and Google doesn't want to wait to give the public access to the documents in the case.

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton has denied Google's Friday request to wait until June and ordered the companies to figure out which information is too sensitive to release, such as trade secrets, within 10 days of filing. Stanton said everything else will be open to the public. Peter Kafka over at All Things Digital was first to report the news.

For three years, most of the information in the case has not … Read more

Google reluctant to release info in Viacom case

Google, the search company that uncovers much of the world's information for its customers, is embroiled in a fight to keep information about itself under wraps for at least a while longer.

The owner of YouTube, which is defending itself against a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by entertainment giant Viacom, has asked a federal court to keep documents filed in the case under seal for another three months.

On Friday, Viacom and Google filed for summary judgment, claiming that there's enough undisputed evidence for the judge to rule in each party's favor. Supporting documents were also … Read more

CNET TV Apple Byte: When Steve says no Flash, the world listens

In this edition of CNET TV's Apple Byte, Brian Tong discusses Apple's recent lawsuit against mobile handset maker HTC for patent violations, Virgin America loses Flash in favor of a more universal, iPhone-friendly website, and the iPad gets an official release date.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Do you have questions, issues, or stories you would like to see on MacFixIt? Email Us.

Some on Wall Street wonder if Netflix has peaked

Wall Street is once again fretting over Netflix.

Some analysts didn't know what to do with themselves on Tuesday when the share price of the Web's top movie rental service shot past their performance expectations. Sure, Netflix continues to return boffo earnings, but after the company's share price hit $70, some brokers took a hard look at Netflix's prospects for the future, according to a MarketWatch story by reporter Therese Poletti.

What the analysts found was a Web video-on-demand segment filling up fast with competitors. That apparently spooked analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Susquehanna … Read more