Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against Google over copyright infringement on YouTube is coming to a head, with a court battle likely to ensue sometime this year. For now, the accusations made by both sides have been released. And they pull no punches whatsoever.

A Brief History Lesson

Viacom Vs Google can be traced right back to May 2005 before YouTube was under the protective wing of Google. A clip from Paramount Pictures’ Twin Towers was uploaded to the site, and Viacom demanded to know who the uploader was.

In October 2006 YouTube made a deal with Viacom to syndicate content. Then Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. February 2007 saw Viacom retract the previous deal and pull everything off the site.

March 2007 saw Viacom sue Google for 63,000 counts of copyright infringement, for which it was seeking $1 billion in damages. Google argues that YouTube is protected under the Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

BetaNews has the full timeline with many more twists and turns. But it all builds to this point when Google and Viacom’s documents pertaining to the court case have been released. And they make for interesting reading, to say the least.

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Google looks set to venture into the living room with Google TV, an Android-based set-top box capable of delivering the best of the Web (and online video) to your television set. And it’s partnered with Sony and Intel to make Google TV happen.

Google

Google is, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest name on the Internet right now. The search giant controls the search sector, is making gains with its Chrome Web browser, has Maps, Street View, and all those other cool apps, and, of course, owns YouTube.

Google has also made the move to smartphones with its Android operating system. But it’s yet to venture into the living room, at least until now.

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Not content with measuring detailed analytics across the online video sector, TubeMogul has started to sell video advertising as well, launching its Play Time video ad platform. And it’s already seeing promising results from the endeavor.

TubeMogul

TubeMogul was the first dedicated online video analytics firm, enabling content creators to track the performance of their videos over a number of online video services.

But that clearly wasn’t enough for the company, which has now launched Play Time, its video advertising platform. And the firm is already seeing results from the year-long beta.

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The U.K. is suddenly awash with online video services vying for attention. And there promises to be even more on the way. Following on from the full launch of SeeSaw, the MSN Video Player has launched after a lengthy period in beta. And it has improved considerably.

Online Video In The U.K.

Online video is veritably booming in the U.K.

The country already has the fantastic BBC iPlayer, my personal favorite 4oD from Channel 4, ITV Player, and Demand Five. And that’s just the catch-up services for the free-to-air terrestrial channels.

There is also Sky Player (for BSkyB subscribers), and the likes of YouTube, SeeSaw, and the MSN Video Player catering for people after older shows online. And Hulu is still endeavoring to kick-start its service in the U.K. as it breaks out of the U.S. and pushes into Europe.

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How much do you know about video marketing? The chances are very little, unless it’s your business to know. Which is where EyeView comes in. And the company has created a quiz which both tests and educates on the subject.

EyeView

The Web offers a whole new platform for advertisers to sell their wares. But as with every other medium, there are ways of increasing the success of campaigns.

EyeView offers video solutions for advertisers, having spent the last three years working for and with big names such as Google, YouTube, Yahoo!, HP, and eBay.

EyeView wants to know how much you know about works and what doesn’t in the realm of video advertising, and has created a Video Marketing Quiz which everyone can take.

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ComScore has released its viewing figures for online video during January 2010. And the results aren’t positive on a month by month basis, although year on year figures are better. The big losers this time around are Hulu and Vevo.

Online Video Viewing Figures

Online video viewing figures are generally on the up. To a vast degree. As more and more people start turning to the Web for new ways of watching movies and television content, the big players are generally picking up new viewers left, right, and center.

But it isn’t exactly plain sailing, especially for everyone other than YouTube who is currently fighting to maintain or steal second place behind the Google-owned site.

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The 2010 Academy Awards are being held tonight, and Avatar and The Hurt Locker are the front-runners for the coveted ‘Best Picture’ Oscar. But both are beaten by District 9, at least if the number of downloaded torrents is the deciding factor.

Movie Piracy

Movie piracy has been with us for decades. The advent of home video made piracy a huge problem for Hollywood, and DVD and Blu-ray have continued that trend. But it’s the Internet that truly made piracy mainstream and something everyone does.

That is if you believe sharing media files on the Internet is piracy, of course. The law says it is, naturally.

File-sharing sites are probably more numerous now than ever before, with both well-known and underground options available to anyone who wants to acquire a media file – be it movie, TV show, game, computer program, or whatever – for free online.

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