Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

I want to create a website that is similar to Google News, in that Google News links to hundreds, if not thousands of news videos, which they do not own or produced. In my case I want to create a website that will link up to at least 400 YouTube vidoes (which is owned by Google). The core of my website will be the Youtube vidoes and it is a for profit website as I want to sell ad space. Is this legal? and if so what makes it legal? I am assuming it is as Google and other similar sites do it.


Asked on 8/07/10, 12:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert Lawrence Finlayson Toffer Roosevelt & Lilly

Google News doesn't have ads on it. It's merely a filter for existing news (and news feeds) that are available on the web and that you (the individual) can personalize for your reading convenience since -- as Google says -- nobody can read all the news.

Your idea, on the other hand, of creating a commercial website that aggregates YouTube videos (presumably the popular ones) to generate ad revenue will be frowned upon by YouTube's (i.e., Google's) attorneys. YouTube lets you share the videos socially, but your idea is specifically prohibited by YouTube's terms of use, which state in pertinent part at Section 4(D):

"You agree not to use the Service for any of the following commercial uses unless you obtain YouTube's prior written approval:

the sale of access to the Service;

the sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions placed on or within the Service or Content; or

the sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions on any page of an ad-enabled blog or website containing Content delivered via the Service, unless other material not obtained from YouTube appears on the same page and is of sufficient value to be the basis for such sales."

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Answered on 8/12/10, 1:41 pm


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