Viacom appeals landmark U.S. copyright case ruling

* June ruling was a victory for Google and YouTube

* Viacom claimed tens of thousands of videos illegal

NEW YORK Aug 11 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc VIAb.N is appealing a U.S. judge's dismissal of its $1 billion lawsuit accusing Google Inc (GOOG.O) of allowing copyrighted videos on YouTube without permission, according to a court notice filed on Wednesday.

Viacom's appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York was expected following U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton's June 23 ruling it would be improper to hold Google and YouTube liable under federal copyright law merely for having a "general awareness" that videos might be posted illegally.

Media company Viacom claimed tens of thousands of videos on Google's video service YouTube were posted based on its copyrighted works and that the Internet company knew about it, but did nothing to stop illegal uploads.

The lawsuit originally filed in 2007 was seen as a test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a 1998 federal law making it a crime to produce technology to circumvent anti-piracy measures and limiting liability of online service providers for copyright infringement by users.

New York-based Viacom owns cable networks such as MTV and Comedy Central and the Paramount movie studio.

The cases are Viacom International Inc et al v. YouTube Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 07-02103; and The Football Association Premier League Ltd et al v. YouTube Inc et al in the same court, No. 07-03582. (Reporting by Grant McCool; editing by Andre Grenon)