During a Viacom vs. YouTube trial in Manhattan today, lawyer Philip S. Beck told U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton that YouTube was working "very intensely and cooperating" with major content providers to develop its fingerprinting technology and have it ready for use in the fall.
Viacom and independent music publisher Bourne Co. both filed suits against YouTube for copyright infringement, which were brought before Stanton in court today.
Beck said that the digital fingerprint will cause the file-sharing system to shut down immediately after a user attempts to share a copyrighted video.
According to Chris Maxcy, partner development director for YouTube, the fingerprinting technology was built with the Disney's and Time Warner’s in mind."
It will be used to identify copyrighted material uploaded to YouTube, he said, after which copyright holders can decide if they want the material removed or kept it in place and, as part of a revenue sharing deal with YouTube, share in the advertising revenue for ads placed next to the content.
YouTube has been heavily criticized as a depot for stolen content and copyright infringement — as have its adult-specific equivalents, like PornoTube and XTube.