US: Judge denies request to stop anti-Muslim film clip

Los Angeles: An actress who appeared in an anti-Muslim film trailer that sparked violence in the Middle East has lost her legal challenge to have the 14-minute trailer taken down from YouTube.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Luis Lavin rejected the request from Cindy Lee Garcia on Thursday because she wasn't able to produce any agreement she had with the makers of 'Innocence of Muslims' and the man behind the film hadn't been served with a copy of her lawsuit.

Garcia's attorney, Cris Armenta, told reporters that her client plans to return to court in three weeks with more evidence to bolster her case.

The video posted to YouTube has been linked to protests that continue to rage across the Middle East.

The video posted to YouTube has been linked to protests that continue to rage across the Middle East. The White House has asked YouTube to take it down and the company has refused, saying it doesn't violate its content standards.

While Thursday's legal ruling might further antagonize protesters, the lawsuit had little chance of succeeding because of a federal law that protects third parties from liability for content they handle, legal experts said.

Jeremiah Reynolds, a Los Angeles attorney who specialisesin intellectual property and First Amendment cases, said, "I think they hoped the judge would have enough sympathy for this woman to have him take the video down."

Garcia is suing for fraud and slander against Internet search giant Google, which owns YouTube, and Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind the video who has gone into hiding since it rose to prominence last week.

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