Turning the Tables....

Talk about irony. YouTube, one of the darling's of Web 2.0 applications and the newest property of Google, is trying to play the other side of the field. Consistantly lambasted with copyright infringement questions, YT has sent a "Cease & Desist" to TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, one of the darling's of Web 2.0 business, stating that an application TC created infringes on THEIR copyrights. You can read the actual letter in full here.

Not long ago, TechCrunch developed a small tool that lets people download YouTube videos to their hard drives. They did so after reviewing YouTube's Terms of Use and determining that the application would not be in conflict with any legalities.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

In other YouTubeNews: It's being reported that Google has set aside $200 million in escrow from the $1.65 billion deal for one year, in an obvious legal fund to fight the pending copyright infringement claims they are sure to (or already have) rolling in.

Which has me wondering: Have they issued the cease and desist to TechCrunch in an attempt to a) take action on an action they feel wrongs the company, b) recoup some of the money they're certain to have to pay out or c) get a taste of being on the other side of the claim, as research for when they're pulled in themselves?