User-Generated Content May Get Old Media Backing
January 2007, Managing Intellectual Property

A possible deal by four media giants -- CBS, NBC Universal, Fox and Viacom -- to create a video-sharing web site would give Google's YouTube a run for its money, reports Managing IP.  A problem created by these types of web sites is that when users upload videos that include clips from movies, TV shows and music videos, they are often engaging in copyright infringement.
 
Fred Koenigsberg, a partner with White & Case's Intellectual Property practice in New York, commented: "In the just-concluded Congress, there was a major effort in a particular sector by both creators (songwriters) and copyright owners (music publishers) on the one hand, and Internet music services on the other, to modify the law to allow for new licensing procedures which would enable such services to thrive and creators and copyright owners to be paid in a simple business model.  While the effort did not succeed, as time ran out, we can expect similar efforts in the future – not to change the copyright law to favor one side or the other, but to facilitate the new business models for the benefit of all."