YouTube signs broad licensing pact with EMI

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 (Reuters) Google Inc.'s YouTube has agreed to a breakthrough deal with major music label EMI Group Plc to give users of YouTube's video sharing site broad access to music videos by EMI artists.

In a statement, the company said YouTube users would be allowed not only to watch and play authorized videos and recordings from EMI artists, but also to incorporate elements of these videos in YouTube users' own ''user generated content.'' ''With this deal, all four of the world's major music companies are now official YouTube partners,'' Chad Hurley, chief executive and co-founder of YouTube, said in a statement.

The deal follows a string of multibillion dollar lawsuits by major media companies who accuse YouTube of allowing its users to pirate their copyrighted works on the popular video sharing site.

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