A German court on Friday ordered Google to install filtering software on its YouTube service in Germany to prevent users from uploading copyrighted material.
Hamburg's state court sided with German copyright organization GEMA, which had sued Google's YouTube unit two years ago to have 12 music videos for which it holds copyrights be taken down, the Associated Press reported Friday. GEMA, which represents about 64,000 German writers and musicians, argued that its members were losing money when their music was displayed on YouTube.
YouTube, meanwhile, maintained that it bears no legal responsibility for uploaded content, but checks and blocks clips that are flagged as possible copyright violations. YouTube also offers copyright-holders software to help them flag content that infringes on their rights.
The Hamburg court ordered YouTube to take down 7 of the 12 contested clips, but said the popular site does not have to monitor all the content that is uploaded.
"The platform operator only has the obligation to block the video ... and take appropriate measures to hinder further rights violations after being notified about the copyright violation," the court said, according to the AP. "There is no obligation to control all videos already uploaded to the platform."
Google is expected to appeal the ruling, The New York Times reported. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company called the decision a partial victory, however.
"Today's ruling confirms that YouTube as a hosting platform cannot be obliged to control the content of all videos uploaded to the site," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement. "We remain committed to finding a solution to the music licensing issue in Germany that will benefit artists, composers, authors, publishers and record labels, as well as the wider YouTube community."
The court case began in 2010, after talks between YouTube and Gema over royalties reached a stalemate. Copyrighted material controlled by GEMA has not been available on YouTube since 2009, when the previous agreement expired. Google said it would resume negotiations, The New York Times reported.
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