• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, November 10, 2006

Google Video is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit, the company revealed this week in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The lawsuit, filed in France, seeks $192,465 (150,000 Euros) in damages; it's based on allegations related to a documentary that surfaced on the site. Google said it removed the video as soon as it learned that owners hadn't authorized its release. "This is a small lawsuit over a single video that appeared briefly. We have procedures in place that allow copyright owners to tell us if their content is placed on Google Video without authorization. When we receive appropriate notice, we quickly remove the content from Google Video," the company said in a statement.

The lawsuit is believed to stem from Google's hosting of video clips. While this particular lawsuit doesn't appear to be related to Google's recent agreement to purchase video-sharing site YouTube for $1.65 billion, the case potentially foreshadows how Google will defend itself in any suits that arise out of the YouTube merger.

Some legal observers hold that Google will have solid legal ground to fight suits--at least in the United States--as long as the company removes copyrighted clips once the owner complains. But others hold that the law governing online copyright is ambiguous about whether Web sites are liable if companies sue without first giving the sites notice and an opportunity to remove copyrighted content.