News: The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is in discusion with YouTube to buy out the young video company for $1.6 billion. The WSJ attributes the source as a “person familiar with the matter,” but that the discussions are still “sensitive” and “could well break off.”
Analysis: The thoughts of Google buying YouTube are downright dizzying. With a war chest like Google’s, YouTube would be pretty much set for life. Although some copyright holders might see this as bringing in an even “deeper pocket” with Google, the sword cuts both ways. Google can hire the best copyright lawyers and finance any litigation all the way to the Supreme Court. For example, with the copyright lawsuit over the Google Book Search, Google has shown no signs of backing down.
