Executives at Google are negotiating with traditional media firms to allow its recently purchased Youtube video website to use their content, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt are reported to have met CBS, Viacom, Time Warner, NBC Universal, News Corp and others to discuss the issues and to ward off a potentially crippling round of lawsuits.
Youtube, which was bought by Google for $1.65 billion last month, serves 100 million video clips a day, making it the most popular Internet video site.
However, much of the video material belongs to the traditional media companies and has been posted without their permission.
In an interview recently with the Financial TimesMr Schmidt said he wanted media companies to be partners and wanted them to combine Google's advertising platform with their content to reach a larger audience.