Report: YouTube Beefing Up Video Rights Detection

• By Robert Andrews
• On 1:58 am EDT, Wednesday October 7, 2009

YouTube is reportedly looking to please broadcasters by enhancing its Content ID database through deals with three video transcoding companies.

NYT says the site will on Wednesday announce deals with Harmonic, Telestream and Digital Rapids: "YouTube said it would be able to identify clips almost immediately after a program or live event. The system will also reduce the number of steps media companies must take to get their reference files, often called fingerprints, into YouTube's system."

That means rightsholders, on whom YouTube often relies to inform it of unauthorised uploads of their videos, should more easily be able to "claim" more of their works on the site, even those uploaded without permission.

The three companies make video encoding products aimed at broadcasters. Audio-and-video identification service Audible Magic is already used in Content ID, which, for example, lets record labels "claim" home-made videos that have been overdubbed by their creators with a copyrighted song.

Once claimed, rightsholders can choose to place ads against the video as well as clickthrough retail links to iTunes and Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN - News), taking a split of revenue. So this video deal, if announced, could generate more legal business from illegal TV uploads.

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