--- description: The long-running, $1 billion litigation goes back to 2007 title: Google and Viacom Settle YouTube Copyright Suit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5de626ed8aa39592/698682011eebf7096836f726/youtube-google-canada.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [YouTube](/tag/youtube/) ## YouTube Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Google and Viacom Settle YouTube Copyright Suit  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2014 1:03 PM CUT  People walk by a YouTube sign at the new Google office in Toronto, Nov. 13, 2012. People walk by a YouTube sign at the new Google office in Toronto, Nov. 13, 2012.Mark Blinch—Reuters  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2014 1:03 PM CUT Viacom has settled its long-running lawsuit with Google over what the telecommunications giant alleged was willful copyright infringement by Google’s video-sharing site YouTube. The two companies jointly announced the settlement deal with a statement Tuesday. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. “Google and Viacom today jointly announced the resolution of the Viacom vs. YouTube copyright litigation. This settlement reflects the growing collaborative dialogue between our two companies on important opportunities, and we look forward to working more closely together.” Viacom [originally sued](http://business.time.com/2013/04/19/how-google-beat-viacom-in-the-landmark-youtube-copyright-case-again/ "undefined") YouTube in 2007, alleging the site’s success was built on users posting clips from Viacom-owned television programs in violation of the company’s copyright. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/28526/google-and-viacom-settle-youtube-copyright-suit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/28526/google-and-viacom-settle-youtube-copyright-suit/"},"headline":"Google and Viacom Settle YouTube Copyright Suit","datePublished":"2014-03-18T13:03:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:45.406Z","description":"The long-running, $1 billion litigation goes back to 2007","url":"https://time.com/28526/google-and-viacom-settle-youtube-copyright-suit/","keywords":["YouTube","Tech","Google"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5de626ed8aa39592/698682011eebf7096836f726/youtube-google-canada.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5de626ed8aa39592/698682011eebf7096836f726/youtube-google-canada.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People walk by a YouTube sign at the new Google office in Toronto, Nov. 13, 2012.","caption":"People walk by a YouTube sign at the new Google office in Toronto, Nov. 13, 2012.","creditText":"Mark Blinch—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/youtube/","name":"YouTube"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/28526/google-and-viacom-settle-youtube-copyright-suit/","name":"Google and Viacom Settle YouTube Copyright Suit"}}]}] ```