MySpace Offers Record Labels Tools To Remove Copyrighted Works
MySpace is now offering free software tools to let media companies block the uploading of unauthorized video clips, expanding on an earlier program to block unauthorized music. MySpace, owned by News, Corp., has licensed audio fingerprinting technology developed by Audible Magic, which helps identify the digital audio signature in a video file. Videos whose audio tracks match those in its database will be blocked.
MySpace said it was already helping companies block the uploading of unauthorized audio files such as songs and this was an expansion into video. It also said it has been blocking both audio and video files owned by Vivendi’s Universal Music Group through this system. MySpace said it maintains a database of fingerprints uploaded by content owners. The blocking of unauthorized clips is on a voluntary basis to prevent the exclusion of materials that companies want to be uploaded, such as those by a company’s marketing department.
The move comes a week after Viacom Inc. ordered the removal of more than 100,000 clips from top online video service YouTube and criticized the Google Inc.-owned service for dragging its heels to offer reliable ways to block unauthorized clips of top shows, including comedian Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show.”
MySpace’s move leapfrogs YouTube’s efforts to roll out the ability to identify and block videos uploaded by users without copyright permission. YouTube does not screen for copyright-protected videos during the uploading process. But some of the companies that have signed deals with YouTube have grown impatient. Last week, NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker, whose company has a sponsorship deal with YouTube, slammed the service. Viacom signed a similar sponsorship deal last year.
