Google Says Copyright Video Filter Almost Ready
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Monday his company is just weeks away from activating a new system that will filter out copyright-protected videos on the Google Video and YouTube sites.
That's important because while sites like YouTube have proved wildly popular, they also provide ready homes for copyright-violating video. Examples might be clips from shows like Saturday Night Live and the L Word.
The big companies that own that content have been of two minds on the issue. On one hand they recognize that video sharing sites usually post only short bits of their shows, and may ultimately increase the visibility of their content. But on the other hand they don't like the idea of people watching their video for free and without ads.
Lately that second mindset seems to be winning out. Pressure has mounted on Google and others to provide a means of proactively finding and removing copyright-protected video content. The content owners have become increasingly frustrated that they are responsible for locating and pulling copyrighted video at the video sites.
That frustration led Viacom to file a $1 billion lawsuit against Google last month, claiming "massive intentional copyright infringement" on YouTube.
The lawsuit came after some long weeks of discussion between the two companies. "After a great deal of unproductive negotiation, and remedial efforts by ourselves and other copyright holders, YouTube continues in its unlawful business model," Viacom said at the time.
Google, of course, hopes its new filtering system will persuade Viacom to call off its lawyers so that the two media giants can play nice again. "With Viacom you're either doing a business deal with them or you're being sued by them," Google's Schmidt said Monday.
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Viacom and other greed-pits should be required to either permit use of its programming or to create a site where subscribers can obtain important clips. As a case in point, I had no idea what Ismus actually said (re: ladies basketball team) until I played the remarks on YouTube. This time, I actually agreed that he should be disciplined, but I would have maintained my typical cynical view toward those who wish to remove our freedom of speech had I not seen the clip.