LOS ANGELES - A federal judge has ruled that online video-sharing sites are protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if they adhere to takedown notices.
Wired.com reports that Universal Music Group had filed against the San Diego company Veoh, which is backed by Time Warner and Michael Eisner, for violating copyrights by allowing users to upload and store Universal's music videos.
U.S. District Judge Howard Matz sided with Veoh that the company was covered by the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "safe harbor" guidelines.
Judge Matz cited the DMCA and said a service provider must not have "actual knowledge" of the infringing material and "must expeditiously remove or disable access to material if it is notified that the material is infringing or is the subject of infringing activity."
The lawsuit is similar to other complaints filed against sites such as YouTube.com and MySpace.com.
Wired reports this is the second time that a federal judge has ruled the DMCA protects video-sharing sites.
In August, 2008, Veoh won a court victory when a San Jose, Calif. judge dismissed a similar lawsuit regarding copyright infringement filed by the adult entertainment company IO Group.