Google Unveils Copyright Protection Tools For YouTube

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200710160037DOWJONESDJONLINE000017_FORTUNE5.htm
UPDATE: Google Unveils Copyright Protection Tools For YouTube
October 16, 2007: 12:37 AM EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Google Inc. on Monday unveiled widely anticipated technology designed to prevent illicit access to copyrighted material on its YouTube video-sharing service, hoping to defray a nasty, ongoing spat with large media companies that has resulted in a $1 billion lawsuit.
The technology can identify video content owned by media companies and dictate its usage on YouTube, which Google acquired for $1.65 billion in October of last year.
However, it cannot preempt the posting of potentially infringing content, and it leaves much of the work of identifying content up to media companies such as Viacom, which sued Google (GOOG) earlier this year alleging "massive" copyright infringement.
The technology unveiled Monday requires that copyright owners first upload their movies, TV shows and other video content to a Google database. The video content is then broken down into data points and analyzed, so that any matching, infringing versions that get posted - for example, a video taken of a television broadcasting the content - can be automatically identified.
YouTube product manager David King said that while the technology cannot yet prevent copyrighted content from being posted initially, it can pull flagged content off the site "in a matter of a few minutes."
Viacom general counsel Michael Fricklas released a generally positive initial assessment of the new technology in a prepared statement. "We're delighted that Google appears to be stepping up to its responsibility and ending the practice of profiting from infringement," Fricklas said.
Google said nine media companies have been testing the technology, including Time Warner and Walt Disney Co. "We need them to help us to help them," King said. King said that while the database is starting from scratch, as its contents increase, its ability to police YouTube should grow.
The issue of copyright violation has dogged Google since its acquisition of YouTube, and the company has long said that technology for keeping copyrighted material off of the service was in the works.
Michael Kelber, a partner with the intellectual property group at the law firm Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg LLP, called the technology "a first step toward a potential resolution" of the YouTube infringement issue.
However, the technology may yet conflict with whatever plans media companies may have for driving Internet traffic to their own sites to view their video content.
"Getting paid for your content is not the only issue," Kelber said.
Long in coming
In its suit against Google filed in March, Viacom (VIA) complained that shows such as "The Daily Show" were appearing on YouTube without proper consent. A month later, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said publicly that the company had begun working on technology to sift copyrighted content from the service.
Zahavah Levine, YouTube chief counsel, said the technology "will be available to Viacom on the same basis that it's available to everybody else."
It's unclear yet whether even after the introduction of the new technology, Viacom may yet pursue Google for damages related to past infringement of its content. Viacom's suit is still tentatively headed for trial at an undetermined date, according to court records.
The Motion Picture Association of America, which has also sued Internet companies for hosting pirated content, sounded a somewhat positive note about Google's new effort.
MPAA spokeswoman Kori Bernards said that, "While we've not yet had a chance to evaluate this specific technology, we support any and all efforts to provide consumers with legitimate content and protect copyright."
King said that Google had actually been developing the technology for years before its acquisition of YouTube. After that, King said, "we really ramped this up as a priority."
King acknowledged that the technology requires a great deal of work by media companies.
However, he said, "What we're announcing today is a big improvement from the current situation."
Kelber said it's true that media companies face a daunting task in order to benefit from the new technology. "If you think about the volume of content out there, it's going to be a lot of work," he said. But, Kelber said, once past the initial hurdle of uploading the content to a database, tracking it becomes relatively easy.
The unveiling of copyright protection technology for YouTube comes shortly after Google announcement last week that the company would begin tying the video service into its popular AdSense online advertising distribution tool.
The result of that combination, among Google's first attempts to actively pull revenue from YouTube, is that alongside more traditional text-based advertisements served up to publishing partner Web sites, YouTube videos containing ads may be served up as well.
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