In what will be seen as a triumph of common sense - not to mention data privacy - Google and Viacom have come to an agreement to anonymise the data history of 100 million YouTube users.
Photo by Alaskan Dude on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
That means that the hundreds of videos each of us have watched on YouTube (I may have run into thousands...) will remain anonymous, rather than Viacom being able to see exactly how many viral videos I plough through each week.
There was uproar last week after the verdict, and Google - quite rightly sensing a severe disturbance in the online video force - deployed its finest legal minds to hammer out a compromise with Viacom.
Viacom said it wanted the data so that it could conduct a detailed examination of YouTube users' viewing habits, though it was clear this was something of a Pyrrhic victory for Viacom because the cost of doing anything comprehensive with so much data would be astronomical.
YouTube gleefully reported the climbdown on its official blog overnight, noting: "We are pleased to report that Viacom, MTV and other litigants have backed off their original demand for all users' viewing histories and we will not be providing that information."
Viacom, it said, had also (rather ambitiously) asked for access to YouTube's video indentification and search technology, as well as videos that users post as private on the site. The court rejected each of those requests.
And so the Google/Viacom suit continues to set some fascinating legal precedents. But it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.
