YouBoobs: Viacom & Google head to court

The first major YouTube lawsuit has been filed, and this one could get ugly. Viacom has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google, the parent company of YouTube, for what it calls "massive intentional copyright infringement," citing 160,000 unauthorized clips of its programming on the site that have been viewed more than 1.5 billion times, according to an Associated Press story I read earlier today.

It's going to be real interesting to see how this one plays out. The lawsuit certainly will determine the fate of YouTube, but not Google, the world's most popular search engine. However, it could make Google's $1.65 billion price tag for YouTube one of the worst acquisitions in recent corporate American history (with a well-deserved nod to CNN Time-Warner's acquisition of AOL).

As usual, one of the cooler things online isn't going to last. Technology giveth, and corporate attorneys taketh away.

If Google loses the YouTube case, you can probably say goodbye to a cool Website. If it wins, it's only a matter of time before another company sues over YouTube copyright infringement. So, Google is in a no-win situation. Say hello to the 21st century's Napster.

I have to be honest, I'd consider paying a small fee per year to have access to a YouTube with extensive content. If Google doesn't prevail in the case, it will be pay to play, of YouTube calls it a day.

In the end, the inventors of YouTube are probably the two smartest guys regarding YouTube - invent something great, and get out before the bottom falls out. Above, YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley, 29, left, and Steven Chen, 27, pose with their laptops at their office loft in SanMateo, Calif., early last year, before becoming very rich before Google purchased their Website.

I'm pulling for YouTube, but I'm not thinking they'll come out of this intact, but I don't think it will happen.

Corporate America wins again.

Photo from AP