
Before Google acquired YouTube a lot of people said that any company that bought YouTube would be "buying a lawsuit." Or a lot of them. And to nobody's surprise, that seems to be the case for Google. According to the Guardian, Time Warner (whose Warner Music arm
struck deals with both YouTube and Google in previous weeks) has
"fired a shot across the bows of Google," saying that it would pursue its compyright complaints against YouTube, and that now that YouTube is a Google property that pursuit will be "kicked up to the Google level." Though Google, whose market cap is higher than Time Warner's, stands a better chance against Time Warner's lawyers than most companies, Time Warner chief Dick Parsons says, "If you let one thing ignore your rights as an owner it makes it much more difficult to defend those rights when the next guy comes along," even if that "one thing" is now under Google's ample wing. Other media companies will surely be keeping a close eye on Time Warner and Google's moves in the coming months to see how this all shapes up.