Viacom, which was spun off from CBS as couple of years ago, has agreed to let Google strip identifying information from YouTube viewers' data before complying with a judge's order to hand over the records as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit.

And just how did we learn of this agreement? There was no news conference called nor any news release issued; it was posted in a blog by YouTube, a Google subsidiary.

'We remain committed to protecting your privacy, and we'll continue to fight for your right to share and broadcast your work on YouTube,' reads the posting.

Viacom had filed the lawsuit in March 2007, seeking $1 billion for alleged copyright infringement. At the time the company stated that 'almost 160,000 unauthorised clips of Viacom's programming have been available on YouTube and that these clips had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times'.

In addition to seeking damages, Viacom said it wants an injunction prohibiting Google and YouTube from further copyright infringement.

You can see their point. They've spent millions, and in many cases many years, developing quality, entertaining content and an audience for each property. YouTube is a video sharing site where people can upload and video clips.

That said, YouTube has struck partnership deals with content providers such as the BBC, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, NBA, The Sundance Channel and more.

In many cases, YouTube can deliver whole new audiences and therefore significant value for the programmes featured.

In the current case, a US district judge ordered Google to give Viacom the YouTube viewing data, a ruling that had both YouTube users and advertisers up in arms over privacy concerns.

Potentially, YouTube would have had to hand over personal information about millions of users and their viewing habits to Viacom, something most users never signed up for, and significantly, setting a worrying precedent.

That's why the two companies have negotiated a new deal last week. Instead of providing Viacom the user names and IP addresses for everyone who has viewed a video on YouTube, Google will provide a random, anonymous code number.

It was crucial that YouTube found a way around the court order. You see, the service is all completely free to users and viewers and revenues from the video sharing site are derived solely from third-party advertising. The YouTube community is what makes the service viable as a business. Handing over personal information would mean losing the trust and loyalty of the users, and then almost certainly the support of advertisers.

Concerns about copyright litigation are a huge deterrent for some corporate advertisers who do not wish to be seen to be connected to clips of films and television shows that were posted on the YouTube website by users without authorisation from the originators. In addition, many companies fail to be enthusiastic about running advertisements next to the amateur footage that makes up a significant portion of YouTube's content.

Although the company claims not to have broken any copyright laws, YouTube has significantly reduced the number of clips against which it sells advertising space to lower the chance of copyright infringement.
YouTube has taken in less advertising revenue than was expected so far this year, and is on course to record about £100.93 million for the full year, below previous expectations.

Google does not give a breakdown of the revenues at YouTube, but its executives have said repeatedly over recent months that they have struggled to find a way of introducing and selling advertising into the vast library of video that it shows every day.

Revenues fall far below those from Google's search-related advertising. First-quarter revenues at Google were £2.59 billion, implying that video advertising will account for only one per cent of all turnover by the year's end.


>>Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a strategic communications consultancy serving the Isle of Man. Visit her business blog, Strive Notes for frequent updates www.strivepr.com/notes or follow her on twitter.com/sherrilynne.