YouTube Says Universal “Had No Right” To Take Down Megaupload Video

Late last week Universal Music admitted in court documents that it had pulled a Megaupload video including A-list musicians off YouTube even though there had been no violation of copyright law.  "What actually transpired," said Universal's lawyers, "was UMG’s use of YouTube’s Content Management System, which UMG is contractually authorized to use pursuant to its written agreement with YouTube."  In a terse statement, YouTube's owners Google clearly disagreed:

“Our partners do not have the right to take down videos from YouTube unless they own the rights to them or they are live performances controlled through exclusive agreements with their artists, which is why we reinstated it.”

MORE: Megaupload Video Back On YouTube, After UMG Offers 'We Yanked It Because We Could' Defense