Google, according to documents recently uncovered, believed that Youtube.com was “completely sustained by pirated content” before the search giant bought the company.

The news was uncovered by files released by Viacom who filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google. They say they Youtube has made copyright infringements by hosting copyrighted content for free. It is interesting to see how Google perceived their eventual acquisition as they refer to it as a “rogue enabler of content theft”. Other comments reveal that Google exec’s thought they should distance themselves from the video site because of their respect for copyright.

Another point uncovered however, which appears to contradict they’re own view of Youtube, is that they [Google] should risk hosting copyrighted content on their own site (Google video) and then deal with the consequences later. In response to the fresh claims, Google have issued a robust statement saying that… “…these documents aren’t new. They are taken out of context and have nothing to do with this lawsuit.”

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