Universal Music Group has sued video sharing site Veoh for "massive copyright infringement". You'll remember that UMG threatened Veoh with a lawsuit in August, and Veoh pre-emptively filed against the music label claiming that it hadn't infringed any copyrights. UMG provides its reasoning in the documents filed in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday:
"Veoh follows in the ignominious footsteps of other recent mass infringers such as Napster...Veoh's rampant infringement will not stop until Veoh, and those who own, control, and run it, are enjoined and held financially responsible.''
Incidentally, Veoh is also facing an existing lawsuit from IO Group, the adult entertainment company.
Could Veoh be the next Bolt.com, crippled by a lawsuit it can't afford to fight or settle? Veoh has some powerful backers, including Time Warner and former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner. Eisner is also on the board of directors. Veoh may stand a better chance of survival than Bolt, but the bad blood between the company and UMG means that a partnership is off the cards for now.
Update: Veoh mailed in their official response: