(Reuters) - A federal judge has again thrown out Viacom Inc's copyright infringement lawsuit against Google Inc over the latter's YouTube service, a year after a federal appeals court had revived the case.
U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton agreed that YouTube was protected from Viacom's copyright claims by the "safe harbor" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Stanton had originally ruled for YouTube in 2010. That ruling was reversed last April by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which revived Viacom's lawsuit.
Viacom had in 2007 filed its $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube and other companies to stop the posting of clips for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "South Park," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and other programs without permission.
The case is Viacom International Inc et al v. YouTube Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 07-02103.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)