YouTube “Video Identification” Tool Aims To Solve Copyright Violations
YouTube has finally launched its new video identification tool which is designed to help detect and resolve copyright infringements on the site. The new tool is an expansion of YouTube’s previously named “Claim Your Content” tool, which was first announced last year.
YouTube is currently embroiled in a billion-dollar legal battle with Viacom over copyright infringement charges. YouTube has repeatedly said that the site is legally protected from infringement charges by the safe harbor provisions in the DMCA, but that defense has not yet been established in court. The new content filtering tools are YouTube’s attempt to put some weight behind claims that it is taking steps to remove copyrighted content, which could bolster its position against Viacom.
Youtube is making it quite clear that it doesn’t have to create the new tools. David King, YouTube Product Manager, writes on the Google Blog that “video Identification goes above and beyond our legal responsibilities,” a statement no doubt aimed at the Viacom lawsuit.
King claims that the new tools “will help copyright holders identify their works on YouTube, and choose what they want done with their videos: whether to block, promote, or even-if a copyright holder chooses to license their content to appear on the site-monetize their videos.”
This strategy differs somewhat from other sites, which mainly attempt to remove videos. YouTube on the other hand is giving content owners the option to cash in on infringing videos that have perhaps taken on a life of their own.
The onus to report infringement is still on the copyright holders, but the new tools allow those owners to choose how violations are handled. YouTube claims that “the best we can do is cooperate with copyright holders to identify videos that include their content and offer them choices about sharing that content.” The statement goes on to say that “as copyright holders make their preferences clear to us up front, we’ll do our best to automate that choice while balancing the rights of users, other copyright holders, and our community as a whole.”
The new Video Identification tools are currently in a beta test phase, but if you’d like to sign up and try them out for your own content, head over to the new YouTube Video ID page.
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