WebProNews

Google isn't the only company that has to determine the best way to protect copyrighted video; the movie and TV studios have to come to grips with a way to let people share content, or forever kill the ability to monetize it online. The wants of the masses versus the needs of the few continue to collide with online video.

Joe Sixpack thinks nothing of putting a few minutes of South Park up on YouTube to get a chuckle out of other people.

Hollywood thinks nothing of strapping Joe down to a stainless steel table and slicing him thinly from the feet upwards so he can watch, for doing that upload.

As with most difficult situations, a compromise probably exists between the wanters and the needers. Getting there means recognizing the desires of both sides.

P. Kevin Smith, senior vice-president at LTU Technologies, works with image-based search technology. His firm's customers have entertaining acronymical names like FBI and ICE. Microsoft and Yahoo Europe have worked with LTU as well.

Smith told WebProNews that Google's new antipiracy tools for YouTube represent a first step in the issue.

"It will be a phased-in approach that starts with industry leaders taking the big first step of prioritizing the issue, as Google has," said Smith.

"The only way to preemptively or instantly stop copyright infringement would be to limit users’ ability to upload content, and that would destroy the spirit of what makes these sharing networks successful," he continued.

For now, Smith thinks the reactive approach to finding infringing content remains the best option for both companies like YouTube and the content owners themselves.

"Whether Google is using the right technology to make this happen is hard to say, but it sounds like they may at least be on the right track," said Smith. He likened Google's fingerprinting approach to LTU Technologies' ImageDNA, which identifies images and 'learns' to recognize them when they recur in video content.

As noted, to work best such technology has to be implemented in a way that does not curb the enthusiasm of people who are active on YouTube and other video sharing sites.

"The only way to preemptively or instantly stop copyright infringement would be to limit users’ ability to upload content, and that would destroy the spirit of what makes these sharing networks successful," said Smith.

"In the meantime, the ability to quickly identify unauthorized content - even if still reactive - is the best option for both companies like YouTube and the content owners themselves."

Google probably wishes Viacom would subscribe to Smith's newsletter (if he has one).