Google took a swipeat media conglomerate Viacom, which is suing the Internet search leader and its video sharing site YouTube for $1 billion over "massive copyright infringement."

    Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, speaking with reporters at a hotel bar at the 25th annual Allen & Co. moguls meeting, said litigation was the foundation of the company that owns the MTV Networks, Paramount movies studio, and video game developer Harmonix.

    "Viacom is a company built from lawsuits, look at their history," Mr. Schmidt said early Friday.

    "Look who they hired as CEO, Philippe Dauman, who was the general counsel for Viacom for 20 years," he added.

    Mr.Dauman,alongtime advisor to Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, served as general counsel from 1993 to 1998 and served as deputy chairman from 1996 to 2000. Before joining Viacom, Mr. Dauman was a partner at law firm Shearman & Sterling.

    Viacom has demanded that YouTube take down hundreds of thousands of segments from Viacom's popular programs including "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "The Colbert Report," and "South Park."

    Viacom has said it sued Google because the companies failed to reach a distribution deal that adequately compensated Viacom for its content. A court hearing begins later this month.

    Mr.Schmidt, who said he had spoken with Mr. Dauman while at the conference, also said Google intended to fight the Viacom suit.

    Google has been the target of numerous lawsuits, most recently one filed by the Australian government charging the company with promoting deceptive business practices with its lucrative pay-per-click advertising system.

    Thailand also briefly blocked access to YouTube after finding a handful of videos uploaded by users that mocked the king, a serious offense in Thailand.