Industry Pact Sets Video Clip Posting Rules
A coalition of Internet and mainstream media groups have agreed to a new system of preventing copyright violations concerning video clips posted on user-generated sites such as MySpace.
Participating members will use special software to detect and block video postings on Internet sites that may violate copyright laws, reports the Associated Press. In exchange, mainstream participants agree not to prosecute new media counterparts for illegal postings that evade agreed monitoring efforts. Members also agree to block users who repeatedly seek to violate copyright laws.
“Today’s announcement marks a significant step in transforming the Internet from a Wild West to a popular medium that respects the rule of law,” says Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal, in a written statement. “By recognizing the mutual benefits of a technology-based framework to control piracy, technology and content companies have laid the foundation for the lawful growth of video on the Internet.”
There is a loophole in the pact that will still permit litigation, however, according to attorney Andrew Bridges. Although the agreed standards could well “minimize friction,” the pact still allows members to seek legal remedies if a dispute arises concerning the application of the agreed guidelines, points out Bridges. An Internet practitioner, he works in the San Francisco office of Chicago-based Winston & Strawn.
The guidelines, which don’t apply to search engines, e-mail or browsers, allow “wholly original” video clips to be posted and provide for compliance with fair use laws, the AP article says.
