MySpace to filter out pirate videos

by Adam Turner

Monday, 12 February 2007

MySpace users will be blocked from uploading copyrighted videos by anti-piracy tools checking the audio fingerprints of video clips.

The social networking site has licensed technology from California-based Audible Magic which examines the audio track of video clips to create a unique audio signature. MySpace will make these tools freely available to media companies, allowing them to create audio fingerprints of their movies and television shows. Files uploaded to MySpace will then be cross checked against these lists of fingerprints.

MySpace plans to trial the video filtering technology on Universal Music Group's music videos but then make it available to all media companies. Philips has also developed similar technology.

The MySpace trial comes as video sharing site YouTube struggles to satisfy media groups demanding it pull down copyrighted material. Viacom recently demanded YouTube remove more than 100,000 video clips after the two firms failed to reach a distribution deal.

YouTube will also post warnings in Japanese against uploading copyrighted materials after negotiations with a leading Japanese copyright lobby group. YouTube's policy has been to remove clips that infringe copyright after it receives complaints, but under new owner Google it insists it's working on a better system. YouTube has already agreed to employ audio signature technology to detect copyrighted music, but Google has also set aside a $US200 million war chest for YouTube indemnification.{moscomment}

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