Murdoch plans to sue BBC for copyright infringement

Posted by Betsey Reinsborough on November 10, 2009 at 12:34 PM

Following yesterday's announcement by Rupert Murdoch that he would be yanking all of his content off of Google search results, there has been an uproar of responses. Yet Murdoch also made another, more overlooked announcement in his interview with Sky News Australia- Murdoch plans to sue the BBC and other like companies for stealing content from News Corporation, Murdoch's company, reports the Guardian.

When asked how he would make his plan to charge for all of his news websites' work when other news organizations, such as the BBC, still provide content for free on their websites, Murdoch shot back that he would ensure that other companies stop using his content by suing them for copyright infringement. "If you look at them, most of their stuff is stolen from the newspapers now, and we'll be suing them for copyright," Murdoch is quoted as saying. "They will have to spend a lot more money on a lot more reporters to cover the world when they can't steal from newspapers."

Murdoch also went on to criticize the ways in which the BBC funds itself, by calling the television licensing fees in Britain which comprise £3.5billion in yearly revenue for the BBC a scandal. Though Murdoch misquoted the revenue as being £4.6billion annually. This licensing fee is imposed by the British government as a way to raise money for the network, in addition to the governmental grants that are also used as funding. The fee taxes each household in Britain with a television set that receives the signal for broadcast television.

It remains to be seen whether Murdoch will follow through on his proposed lawsuit of the BBC, though he has already set up a timeline for charging for all News Corp publications on the internet, despite the recent delays.

Source: Guardian