YouTube signs Viacom despite copyright suit
April 4, 2012
YouTube has announced a movie rental partnership with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures despite the media company’s $1 billion copyright violation suit against the video website.
YouTube said it would offer online rentals of nearly 500 Paramount films, adding to its growing catalogue of feature-length movies.
Viacom is currently appealing a court ruling against its $1 billion lawsuit in which it alleges YouTube and parent company Google have perpetrated “massive copyright infringement.”
The Paramount deal means that YouTube now has movie rental deals with five of the six major film studios, as well as more than ten independent film studios, giving it access to a catalogue of nearly 9,000 films. Viewers can rent the films, generally for 24 hours or 48 hours, for anywhere from $2.99 to $3.99.
The Paramount movies will be available in the United States and Canada over the next few weeks.