Paramount to add 500 films to YouTube rentals

(AP) NEW YORK - YouTube and Paramount Pictures have reached a deal to make nearly 500 films available to rent online, even while their parent companies continue to feud over a $1.76 billion lawsuit.

The agreement announced Wednesday makes Paramount the fifth major Hollywood studio to join YouTube's online video store, a growing rental library that typically charges $2 to $4 per viewing. News Corp.'s (NWSA) 20th Century Fox is now the only major studio holdout.

But Paramount seemed less likely to join given that its parent company, Viacom Inc. (VIA), is still pursuing a 2006 lawsuit that seeks damages for alleged piracy by YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc. (GOOG). A federal judge in New York ruled in 2010 that YouTube hadn't broken U.S. laws governing digital piracy, but Viacom is appealing the decision.