MySpace Tool Lets Content Owners Identify Copyright-Violating Uploads

--Universal Music Group Sues MySpace, Alleging Copyright Infringements

News Corp.-owned social networking site, MySpace.com, has launched a tool intended to make it easier and faster for content owners to identify and remove video that has been uploaded to MySpace in violation of their copyrights. The tool is currently being tested by Fox and Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and will then be offered to other verified copyright holders. According to MySpace, the tool will allow copyright holders to digitally flag any user-uploaded video that they allege has been illegally uploaded to the site. MySpace says that it will then promptly remove all videos flagged by the copyright holders. In addition, MySpace says that it has implemented a proprietary system to block videos that have been removed at the request of a copyright holder from being re-uploaded to the site by other users. "MySpace is firmly committed to protecting copyright holders' rights," MySpace co-founder and CEO, Chris DeWolfe, said in a prepared statement. "This is another important step we're taking to ensure that those who create and own content are able to protect it." The launch of the new content-identification tool follows a licensing deal that MySpace recently struck with a company called Gracenote, which has implemented fingerprinting technology designed to prevent unauthorized music from being posted to the site. MySpace says that until now it has enforced copyright protection, in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, via a traditional "notice and takedown" process, under which copyright holders inform it of infringing content and it then removes the content promptly.

In related news: Universal Music Group has sued MySpace, alleging that the social networking site has systematically violated its copyrights by effectively turning a blind eye to end-users posting Universal music videos without permission. The suit claims that MySpace "harbors no illusions" that users of its site consistently upload videos to its site in violation of content-owners' copyrights, and claims that various MySpace features, such as the ability to share files with other users, encourage copyright violations. The suit seeks damages of $150,000 for every instance in which Universal Music's copyrights have been violated by MySpace users, as well as an injunction against MySpace from continuing to host content that infringes on copyrights. MySpace claims that its service is offered in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which shields ISP's from copyright lawsuits, provided they offer a simple mechanism through which content owners can remove copyright-infringing content from their services.

Originally Published: December 5, 2006  in [itvt] Issue 7.08 Part 2

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