• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, March 21, 2007 10:45 AM

University of Chicago law professor Douglas Lichtman joined the Viacom team in its fight against YouTube, what he calls Google's "haven for copyright infringement." That moniker may be indisputable, but the real issue is whether YouTube should be responsible for what its users upload.

Lichtman accuses the online video provider of "happily distributing" copyrighted material and benefiting from it, while refusing "to take even simple steps that would reduce the infringement." His main point is that because Google didn't create the content filtering system it promised, the company must be "mercilessly punished."

Once again, Google didn't tell its users to upload anything. Its business doesn't revolve around copyright exploitation, either. The video provider has deals in place with a growing number of big and small media companies. Could it be that copyright law is outdated? Most likely yes, because undercutting all this is the simple fact that consumers will go elsewhere--just as they did after the "landmark" Grokster case--if they can no longer upload what they like to YouTube.

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