YouTube to filter copyright-infringing videos
GoogleSystem, the unofficial Google blog, reports YouTube is going to filter copyright-infringing videos. Following Viacom’s recent demands that YouTube not run Viacom stuff, YouTube’s going to deploy its own content identification technology.
But, per Reuters, YouTube is not going to use its technology proactively. It wants to make make deals with the major content providers before filtering their copyrighted videos. “YouTube said the process of identifying copyrighted material is not an automated process and required the cooperation of media company partners.” Apparently, the content providers see the whole thing as a blackmail.
GoogleSystem’s take:
It’s natural to try to see if a video uses music from Universal and share some revenue with the company. This technology will allow YouTube to know more about the videos, as they rely only on the metadata at the moment. It could also be the beginning of a more comfortable relationship with media companies and we’ll see more things like AudioSwap.
AudioSwap is a new project from TestTube, a place for YouTube experiments (similar to Google Labs). You upload a video and YouTube lets you choose a new soundtrack. ‘We’ve made arrangements with artists and record labels so that you can add their songs to your YouTube videos. You get a cool soundtrack, the artists get attribution on your video, and everyone wins!’
My take is more of Google re-writing our copyrighting laws to what it believes most practical. Not saying that’s good or bad, just a reality.