A provision of DMCA copyright law, called safe harbor, freed Veoh from any legal obligation to copyright holders since it removed from its site any copyrighted video as soon as it was alerted of any infringement, the judge ruled. (Under the provision. sites are not required to monitor every video uploaded by its users). Io never asked Veoh to remove clips of its movies, instead choosing to sue in 2006.

Veoh is still fighting a suit against Universal Music Group.

Google, which is facing a similar suit on behalf of YouTube against Viacom, quickly applauded the decision.

“Viacom’s complaint in this action challenges the careful balance established by Congress when it enacted the DMCA,” the Google response read. “By seeking to make carriers and hosting providers liable for internet communications, Viacom’s complaint threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment, and political and artistic expression.”

Google lawyer Michael Kwun formally petitioned the judge to dismiss the complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.

The DMCA allows internet companies a shield from liability with respect to instances of copyright infringement in user-generated content if the company takes down the material upon request of the rightful owner. However, some legal experts say Google may not be able to avail itself of the DMCA safe harbor because the company profited from the alleged infringement, according to a New York Times report.

“This response ignores the most important fact of the suit, which is that YouTube does not qualify for safe harbor protection under the DMCA,” Viacom said in a statement. “It is obvious that YouTube has knowledge of infringing material on their site, and they are profiting from it.”

The legal battle is far from over in this highly publizied lawsuit, but now a line has been drawn in the sand and both sides await the judge’s ruling.