Say it ain’t so!Â
Rumor has it that Google has developed a special program that will stop YouTube users from uploading copyrighted materials. We all know that since Google bought YouTube for an obscene amount of money (considering that YouTube doesn’t really bring any revenue in and membership is totally free); since being purchased, YouTube and Google have been getting hit with lawsuits from almost all of the major networks.Â
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YouTube users have been illegally uploading content (like full episodes of television shows minus the commercials, music videos, and even movies) onto YouTube. The biggest lawsuit to date, a one billion dollar (yes, a billion smackaroos) claim from Viacom that has yet to be settled, and if the full amount is awarded it could really cripple YouTube.
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This new software is supposed to be a step in the right direction for YouTube, and will be first tested on Walt Disney and Time Warner media. The program is supposed to scan the file that the user uploads and find if there is any copyrighted material on it. There are certain qualities that a copyrighted Disney cartoon has that a video of your son dancing in his Halloween costume doesn’t have.Â
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So the question is, if YouTube removes all of the copyrighted material that shouldn’t be there, will anyone come to the site? People want to look at music videos from the 1980s or 90s that aren’t played on the cable stations or old reruns of your favorite show. Do they really want to see the premiere music video of some high school band in Fargo, North Dakota or some seven year old girl’s dance recital? Sure, Google and YouTube have allowed a lot of amateur animators, directors and actors a place to show off their talent, but it’s primarily a place to find the media you are looking for without paying for it. If you could only find un-copyrighted material on YouTube, would you still go? Is this new program Google is testing going to kill off its own program?
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