• by Wayne Friedman , December 3, 2010

Viacom isn't done yet with YouTube.

As expected, the big media company is appealing a June court decision that went in favor of Google's YouTube service concerning Viacom's $1 billion 2007 copyright suit against the big Internet video destination.

Viacom begin legal proceedings against the company for what it believed was illegal airing of clips of its television shows, including Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report." Viacom originally filed suit in 2007 a year after Google bought YouTube for $1.6 billion.

Since the initial lawsuit, both sides have take strong positions -- and revealed some key email information. Viacom showed seemingly incriminating email evidence from YouTube executives in which company officials acknowledged having some copyright issues.

Conversely, Google released information showing Viacom executives had no response when being told that YouTube was airing Viacom's content -- and somewhat acknowledging that YouTube could be helping to promote its shows.

A federal judge in Manhattan in June ruled in favor of Google's saying YouTube is protected under the "safe harbor" provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The provision says if YouTube or another video destination quickly removes content at the request of the copyright holder, then it does not violate copyright law.