November 2009
Google Urges Right Holders to Make Money from YouTube Infringements
Google has set out on a mission to convince record labels, film makers and other rights holders to make advertising revenue generated from people uploading their content onto YouTube rather then removing it for infringement of their copyright.
In attempt to persuade them to do so Google has increased promotion of its ContentID system, a “fingerprinting” system which Google claims can identify the owners of content made available across YouTube even if altered or incorporated into user generated content.
The system works by scanning anything uploaded onto YouTube – estimated at 20 hours of media every minute – and comparing it to a digital library of right holders material. When a match is discovered the relevant right holder is alerted and given the option of blocking the content or agreeing to advertising being placed alongside it. Revenue generated from advertising placed alongside their content is then split with Google.
The move is presumably one of many Google will be making in an attempt to secure more income from the YouTube site which after purchasing for $1.65 billon U.S. dollars three years ago has yet to earn the company any profit.
BRIFFA Comment
The above article demonstrates a valuable but not immediately obvious option sometimes available for right holders facing infringement of their intellectual property rights; negotiating a commercial agreement with the infringing party.
Though it is essential businesses pro-actively enforce their intellectual property rights and maintain a firm attitude against third party infringement, commencing formal legal proceedings costs a lot of money and may not always be the best option.
It is not always possible to reach a commercial agreement with an infringing party and in some cases our clients will not want to do so, however, where appropriate we ensure that we present this as one of many options available to our clients when pursuing infringers.
It has in the past usually consisted of our clients’ agreement to license the use of their intellectual property rights to the infringing party for payment of a royalty. This has not only provided their business with an added source of income but also facilitated its expansion, in some cases into markets/regions they had not considered entering before.
For more information on enforcement of copyright and other intellectual property rights and alternatives to commencing formal legal proceedings against infringers please do not hesitate to get in contact with one of our specialist intellectual property lawyers via info.