YouTube to Test Video ID Technology

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, June 12: The Google-owned
video-sharing site YouTube is gearing up to test a new technology that will
help content owners identify pirated content.

According to wire reports, the trials of the video
identification technology will be conducted with Time Warner and The Walt
Disney Company. The video fingerprinting tools, expected to be available for
testing in about a month, will be used to identify copyrighted material that
has been illegally posted to the site.

YouTube is facing increasing pressure from media companies
in the wake of Viacom’s lawsuit against the site. The media conglomerate is
seeking $1 billion in damages for the hundreds of thousands of pirated clips
uploaded to YouTube.