PressEthic

Google may be smug about their latest video-streaming acquisition, but recent reports have suggested that executives are also wary of the dark days the YouTube investment will bring.

A statement released Tuesday announced the closing of the YouTube deal, but also said that $187.5 million (more than 12% of the takeover cost) was being set aside for “certain indemnification obligations.”

The Financial Times, Dow Jones’s Marketwatch, and the UK’s Guardian Online, among others, interpreted this to mean that Google is financially preparing itself for the lawsuits and copyright settlements likely to be provoked by the object of its latest investment.

Indeed, as The Guardian’s technology correspondent reports:

When Google announced last month that it was buying the 18-month old company, many analysts predicted that a flurry of legal actions would follow as claimants sniffed substantial winnings.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the company admitted that lawsuits could be a problem.

"Our planned acquisition of YouTube may also subject us to additional copyright claims upon the closing of the transaction. Adverse results in these lawsuits may include awards of damages and may also result in, or even compel, a change in our business practices," the filing said.

Now that Google’s the parent, there’s big money to be had from taking legal action against YouTube.

Moreover, by Google's own indications, this action is likely to make the YouTube of 2007 rather different from the YouTube of the past 18 months.