Slap on the face for YouTube is a German's court decision

Frank Peterson, composer and producer for Sarah Brightman, is accusing YouTube for disclosure of audiovisual material without permission. In short, Peterson made a complaint to YouTube because some users uploaded video clips of Sarah Brightman.



The court eventually convicted YouTube, accepting the claims of Peterson violations of the law of copyright. Following the reasoning of the decision, known mention of YouTube "must have permission to upload the material" is not enough to relieve the agency from all liability. Google will now have to pay compensation for the clips of Brightman, but all will be judged on appeal, as the company is determined to appeal.

Arnd Haller, head of legal department of Google Germany, said the court ruling ignores the directive of the European Commission on electronic commerce. It remains to be seen whether this argument is enough to relieve the Google to appeal.