German court rules YouTube not liable for policing copyright

Duesseldorf

A GERMAN court reaffirmed on Wednesday that YouTube was responsible only for blocking copyright-infringing videos which had been brought to its attention, but the judicial panel said that the Google video unit could do more to stop breaches.

The Hamburg regional court rejected an appeal by German performing rights association Gema, upholding a lower court ruling that said sites such as YouTube do not actively have to search for illegal activity by their users.