YouTube may show anti-muslim video: appeals court

A US appeals court on Monday ruled that Google-owned YouTube should not be barred from showing an uploaded "Innocence of Muslims" film that outraged Islamics.

A full 11-justice panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco sided with YouTube and rejected a court decision last year ordering the service to keep the "blasphemous video" off of its online stage.

Actress Cindy Lee Garcia pitched a legal battle based on an argument that her five-second appearance in the film gave her copyright authority enough to prevent it from being shown without her permission.

The snippet featuring the actress was taken from work she had done for a different film, and a dubbed-over line given to her character was offensive to the Islamic religion, according to her court case.

The film outraged members of the Islamic community around the world and prompted a fatwa to be issued calling for the deaths of all involved in the making of the video.