Italian PM's TV firm sues YouTube, Google for copyright infringement

Silvio BerlusconiMediaset SpA, the television company controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, sued the YouTube video-sharing Web site and its owner Google Inc. on Wednesday, seeking ''at least'' €500 million ($779 million) in damages. The Italian company accused YouTube of distributing and exploiting its commercial property.

Mediaset joins a series of leading broadcasters to have sought compensation from YouTube, a video-sharing website, for alleged copyright infringement.

Gestevision Telecinco SA, a Mediaset unit that owns Spain's most-watched TV station, sued YouTube last month for copyright infringement and illegally posting its video content on the Web. In a separate suit, France's largest commercial broadcaster TF1 TFFP.P asked for damages of €100 million for a similar reason.

YouTube is also facing a $1 billion copyright infringement suit from American media conglomerate Viacom Inc. that accuses it of profiting from clips from Viacom shows illegally uploaded by YouTube users.(See: Google ordered to release YouTube user data to Viacom in $1-billion lawsuit)

Mediaset alleges that it found at least 4,643 copies of its programming on YouTube on 10 June, when it conducted a sample survey. That programming represents approximately 325 hours of material, Mediaset claims.

The media company, as a result, alleges that its three Italian television networks have lost nearly 315,700 viewer days, which, in turn, represents lost advertising opportunities for its television programs, Mediaset alleges.

The claim of €500 million corresponds to ''immediate damages,'' Mediaset said in a statement. Lost advertising revenue linked to the videos may add to the amount of compensation demanded, Mediaset said.