Media Bigwigs Set Guidelines for Policing Web Videos - Page 2

Several industry analysts interpreted the guidelines as an attempt by the media companies to address deficiencies in the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was enacted in 1998 before the explosion of video uploading and file sharing. The Safe Harbor provision of the DMCA provides protection from copyright infringement liability to companies that post warnings about infringement on their Web sites and remove copyrighted content promptly when brought to their attention.

"In general, the guidelines are a responsible effort to establish industry standards," said Edward Naughton, intellectual property partner at legal firm Holland & Knight. "It makes sense for the big players to figure out a way to avoid these huge infringement lawsuits, and for the UGC services to agree to some ground rules. But, ultimately, these issues may need to be resolved by Congress amending and updating the DMCA."

Google has cited the DMCA's Safe Harbor provision in its defense against Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit, which alleged massive copyright infringement on YouTube. The complaint, filed in March in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, contends that approximately 160,000 unauthorized video clips of Viacom programming have been uploaded and made available on YouTube, where they have been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

Google's game

The search giant this week took some steps to insulate itself from the copyright controversy, launching a new service on YouTube that it said would enable content owners to locate and pull down video posted in violation of copyrights "within minutes" of being uploaded.

The company said the automated YouTube Video Identification system would let it ban accounts belonging to repeat violators and uniquely identify and prohibit future uploads of videos removed earlier for copyright violations. The system, currently in beta, cannot prevent a user from posting illicit material, however -- making it weaker than the technology called for in the guidelines document.

A source close to Viacom said Thursday that Google's claim that its new system would enable it to take quick action against violators is "a positive development."

"If it really can pull this stuff down two minutes after it's uploaded, that would be a major step forward," he said.

Still, it might be some time before Google can formally join Viacom and the other media conglomerates in supporting the UGC copyright guidelines. For one thing, it would have to wait until Viacom's lawsuit is resolved.

Analysts also suggested that Google has staked out a clear position on the side of providing universal access to content over the Web, and therefore may not want to dilute its position by endorsing restrictive guidelines issued by content providers.

"They may endorse [the guidelines] eventually, but they do not need to get out in front of this," one analyst said.

In addition to calling for new technology to block uploads of copyrighted material without permission, the guidelines urge UGC sites to "promote respect for intellectual property rights and discourage users from uploading infringing content."

Lindgren said the inclusion of some UGC sites among the guidelines' supporters signals that the video sites realize they need to reach an accommodation with the large content providers regarding copyright infringement.

"Clearly, the content providers want the UGC players to take on more responsibility and play a greater role in policing copyright infringement, and perhaps the service companies are recognizing that they will need to do this to play with the big guys," he said.