It could be said that from the moment Universal Music brought its lawsuit against the company its fate was sealed. And so it has come to pass, with Veoh laying off its staff and filing for bankruptcy. Another fledgling video site bites the dust.

Veoh’s Bright Beginning

Veoh began life in 2005 before entering beta in 2006. Founded by Dmityr Shapiro, the company made the headlines when Michael Eisner, former Disney chairman, joined the board. And he was one of the big-name investors alongside Time Warner and Goldman Sachs.

Veoh was talked about in the same vein as YouTube, offering a mix of user-generated content and premium content. Veoh’s goal was simple: to aid the viewing of video content and the uploading of video from ordinary people.

But things soon turned sour.

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Although the case isn’t technically over yet, the fact that the judge in Universal Music Group’s copyright case against Veoh has stated the video site qualifies for protection from DMCA’s safe harbor provision leaves little to litigate over. So what effect does this decision have on Viacom’s case against YouTube on similar charges?

DMCA Safe Harbor Provision

All online video sharing sites, and sites which accept other forms of media, which allow users to upload content, run the risk of copyrighted material making its way onto their servers. Whether that in effect means the site itself is infringing on copyright law is open to interpretation.

The safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, otherwise known as the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is designed to end this debate by exempting Web sites and hosts as long as they follow certain rules.

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Could the decision to throw out a copyright infringement case against Veoh have an impact on the $1 billion lawsuit Viacom is currently pursuing against YouTube?

The U.S. District Court has dismissed a copyright infringement case in which Io Group alleged Veoh had broken the law by the use of its transcoding method.

DMCA Takedowns Not Sufficient?

Io Group, an adult entertainment company, launched the lawsuit back in 2006 after some of its pornographic material ended up on Veoh due to being uploaded by a user.

Io Group first sent DMCA takedown notices, which were duly and very quickly honoured with the removal of the videos. But that wasn’t enough and it sued Veoh anyway.

ABC has been maybe the American television network most-resistant to fully embracing the Web. But that is now changing, with the network signing a deal with Veoh.

The deal, as revealed by the New York Times, sees ABC shows such as Lost, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty being made available on Veoh, as well as game highlights and clips from ESPN.

Veoh Expanding Output

Veoh started out in the same way as YouTube, offering short user-submitted clips, but has of late been attempting to integrate more material from large media companies such as CBS and MTV.

This latest deal with ABC sees shows being streamed for free with an advertising revenue model on the website, although interestingly, ABC is still not open to the idea of embeds, so videos will have to be viewed in a separate window instead.

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.

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.”

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.