Just finished reading an article about Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks and HDNet) saying that whoever buys YouTube will be buying into many lawsuits because of copywrite infringement. “The only reason it hasn’t been sued yet is because there is nobody with big money to sue.”

YouTube, based in San Mateo, California, specialises in serving up short videos created by everyday people. Its popularity, with more than 100 million video showings daily, has spurred speculation the firm will be sold or taken public.

This month YouTube unveiled its first deal to distribute music videos legally from a major music company by agreeing a deal with Warner Music Group, home to pop stars James Blunt and Madonna.

In other remarks, meanwhile, the often-controversial Cuban also told advertisers that the reach of [TAG-TEC]YouTube[/TAG-TEC] is limited, particularly when it comes to user-generated videos.

“User-generated content is not going away,” he said. “But do you want your advertising dollars spent on a video of Aunt Jenny watching her niece tap dance?”
“Somebody puts up something really good and you get, what, 60,000 viewers?” Cuban added during the event at Advertising Week in New York.
YouTube now offers advertising through banner ads, promotions and sponsorships. It has said it plans to roll out a range of different advertising options over the coming year.

Cuban cautioned advertisers against investing heavily in so-called viral campaigns that are spread by users beyond their initial point of distribution on YouTube or other video sharing sites. But he touted opportunities to run commercials on high-definition television such as his HDNet network.
“What makes viral so special is it’s so hard to do. It’s so hard to plan. It’s hard to stand out,” he said, describing 99 percent of money advertisers spend on viral campaigns as “wasted.”

Some content from Reuters