In something of an ironic twist, an online video site is suing a major music label – Veoh has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group in a pre-emptive strike to prevent UMG from bringing a case of copyright infringement against Veoh.

In July, UMG indicated to Veoh that it was investigating legal action over massive copyright infringements. But Veoh has cut in with its own lawsuit, filed Thursday, which requests that the video sharing site not be held liable to Universal if users upload content featuring Universal artists without permission.

The lawsuit claims that Veoh has not been provided with any specific details from UMG of the alleged copyright infringements, making it difficult for them to investigate and comply. Like many online video sites, Veoh preach a policy of removing infringing material promptly when notified by the copyright holder that it’s in infringement.

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Fans of American College Football will soon be able to watch highlights of games on their desktops – Veoh Networks and Collegiate Images have teamed up to bring a dedicated NCAA football channel to Veoh.

Kicking off in September, the channel will also include a customized engine allowing users to personalise their football watching experience – this feature is still in development, but Veoh has said it will include unique and interactive elements.

It appears that the partnership is one of many that Veoh is seeking out to fulfill its mission. Ceo, Steve Mitgang, said:

“Moving forward, Veoh will continue to seek strategic partnerships with content providers, advertisers and publishers that advance our mission of making Veoh the most innovative and comprehensive video platform on the Internet.”

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Online video company Veoh Networks Inc has announced the hiring of Steve Mitgang, formerly of Yahoo!, as its new CEO, replacing Dmitry Shapiro, who is now the Chief Innovation Officer.

Steve comes to Veoh from Yahoo!, where he was Senior Vice President of the global team leading the definition, creation, and marketing of Yahoo!’s advertising products, platforms, and services. He led the development of Project Panama, Yahoo’s next generation contextual advertising platform.

Wih Steve Mitgang’s arrival, I am curious to see if Veoh develops any interesting ideas to make money with online video. According to the LA Times, Mitgang said his job at Veoh would be to build a one-stop shop for advertisers seeking to connect with viewers of online video.

Veoh.com say it’s just making online video easier for users to access. But major content providers, such as NBC and Fox, aren’t convinced that VeohTV is a fair and equitable way for its TV shows to be screened to the masses.

It’s an interesting dilemma. VeohTV, by its own definition, is a “virtual television network”. Basically it collates third party video content and re-transmits the shows within its own branded web browser-like software application – all with the genuine intent of making web TV more accessible. (Check out this post for an excellent description).

The VeohTV software, which is still in a beta testing phase not available to the public, currently has 114 easy to navigate channels. The contentious issue is that most, if not all, of the content on these channels is showcased without the permission of the content provider.

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Video startup Veoh has recently unveiled what it calls a “Joost Killer“, its latest innovation VeohTV Beta. VeohTV has been designed from the ground up to provide users with a Web TV experience unlike any other.

Since the start of Veoh the company has released countless different types of software to help users browse and view videos in the Veoh video library. Hopefully Veoh has now settled on a Joost style internet TV application to be the way for the future.

The CEO of Veoh, Dmitry Shapiro demonstrated the new service’s capabilities, and they show a potential which means users are going to have access to virtually any video with unparalleled functionality, quality and control.

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CBS has decided to really take the bull by the horns and bring a lot of its content onto the internet including full TV shows (think CSI, Survivor and Late Show with David Letterman) as well as numerous sporting events including championship boxing.

Its new online TV service is called “Interactive Audience Network” and is really giving the finger to YouTube.

Who needs YouTube

This is one of the biggest pushes to bring traditional TV content online we’ve seen to date.

CBS has agreed distribution deals for all this TV content with a number of online platforms, but guess what, no YouTube.

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The former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, is embarking on a new endeavor called VuGuru.

VuGuru, who’s vacant website currently consists of just a logo, will be a new independent studio that specializes in professional TV and cinema productions that will be shown online.

This is really something that the internet TV industry needs. While the internet has flourished with user generated amateur and semi-professional content, it is seriously lacking in exclusive professional TV shows and movies.

PromQueen TV

VuGuru will be creating "high-quality, story-driven content for the Internet" and the first TV series will be PromQueen TV which will feature 80 episodes aimed at the tech-savvy teen audience. Each episode will only be just 90 seconds long which fits in nicely with the short attention spans of those tech-savvy teens.

The platform is Veoh

Michael Eisner sits on the Veoh board of directors so it is no surprise that Veoh is the chosen platform for the VuGuru online episodes. That does not mean that VuGuru will be forgetting the web video giant YouTube where it will also be broadcasting its videos, but most likely at a lower quality.

VuGuru is definitely a start-up to keep an eye on.

[Via New York Times]