Japanese Group Wants YouTube to Take Preemptive Action To Stop Copyright Violations

Posted on December 6, 2006

The International Herald Tribune (IHT) is reporting that a Japanese entertainment group wants YouTube to develop a system to stop users from uploading copyright infringing videos.

A Japanese entertainment group has asked the popular video-sharing site YouTube Inc. to implement a system to prevent users from uploading videos that would infringe copyrights, a group spokesman said Tuesday.
The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers sent a letter making the request addressed to YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen by express mail and e-mail on behalf of 23 Japanese TV stations and entertainment companies, according to Takashi Fujii, a spokesman for the Jasrac group.

Currently, YouTube removes videos only after the company owning the copyright complains about them. A letter from the group says they want YouTube to create a system that stops them from being posted.

The letter requested that YouTube introduce a preliminary screening system to prevent copyrighted clips from being posted. It also asked for a series of provisional measures, including posting a notice in Japanese about illegal uploads, requiring uploaders to register and terminating users who violate copyright.

YouTube could probably develop a method for flagging a good percentage of the copyright infringing videos and then deleting them but it would probably turn off many of its users. Many news stories over the past few weeks have mentioned that Google is in talks with entertainment companies to cut content deals -- it sounds like they need to pay some attention to foreign entertainment firms as well. CBS and NBC already have channels on YouTube but where is ABC?