YouTube is reportedly testing new software that can automatically detect copyrighted material uploaded to its servers. When detected, YouTube will then contact the copyright owner and give them the option of removing it or leaving it up as part of a revenue-sharing deal.
Will this turn YouTube into a TV-show-clip-free zone, leaving it a wasteland of home movies and amateur sketch comedy? Perhaps. Will this keep copyrighted video off the web? No way. For every YouTube that finds religion and starts pulling all copyrighted clips, a dozen other sites will be waiting with open arms to catch the hemorrhaging traffic as people look for clips from last night's Daily Show. Time will tell how this move will impact YouTube's traffic and influence.
Reuters, via TechCrunch
editor@dvice.com
By karpet at 12:04 PM ON 06/14/07
If networks would get with the program and give us the TV on demand they have been promising they wouldn't have this problem. Remember when Qwest was running commercials advertising access to every book, movie and song ever written? What happened to that? They ran those ads ten years ago. I can live with out the flying car, but for crying out loud, I want Looney Tunes and I want them NOW!!!