We've all heard about the lawsuit Viacom has brought against YouTube. Well now, two of Viacom's very own employees are being dragged into court. Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert have been deposed by Google for the court case, and Google would like to depose another thirty people in addition, including Viacom's Chairman Sumner Restone and its CEO Philippe Dauman.
On the flip side, Viacom is requesting to question YouTube founders Steven Chen and Chad Hurley, as well as Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and its CEO Eric Schmidt. This is all expected for a court case at this level, and th tactic of trying to get high-level executives or representatives is rather customary. Viacom may say that interviewing Stewart and Colbert is irrelevant, while Google could note that their shows and the public influence thereof have a high relevance to this particular case.
Regardless of the particulars surrounding potential depositions from any of these representatives and executives, nearly every aspect of this case has large implications on the position of online videos from here on out.