TorrentSpy begins weeding out copyright content

TorrentSpy, the torrent-file search engine accused by Hollywood of aiding copyright violators, plans to remove links from its search results to pirated content using a new filtering system.

FileRights is an automated filtering system created by some of TorrentSpy's founders. The technology uses "hash" values to automatically remove links to infringing works from search engines that subscribe to the service.

In an interview, Rothken acknowledged that using hash marks to identify copyright content is not foolproof. If a file is altered then the system may not recognize it.

Filtering doesn't necessarily mean an end to the hostilities between Hollywood and the torrent search engines. In 2001, file-sharing system, Napster, launched a filtering system that failed to thwart illegal file sharing enough to satisfy the music industry or the courts.

FileRights works like most video filters. Copyright owners handover information about their films or TV shows and the system detects any files containing unauthorized copies. Links to those files are automatically removed.

Any copyright owner, Web site or search engine is welcome to subscribe to the service for free, according to the company's statement. According to Rothken, one of TorrentSpy's competitors, IsoHunt, has agreed to use the filtering system as well.

AT&T to police the Internet

Though details are vague, the LA Times reports that AT&T is joining forces with Hollywood and the recording industry in a concerted effort to begin more aggressive policing of its network in order to prevent users from sharing pirated content, such as films and music.

This is a sea-change for a major Internet provider, where there exists a tradition of remaining hands-off towards content passed over the network. James W. Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice president explained the change on policy, saying that as AT&T has begun selling pay-television services, the company’s interests have become more closely aligned with Hollywood.

Last week, about 20 technology executives from Viacom Inc., its Paramount movie studio and other Hollywood companies met at AT&T headquarters to start devising a technology that would stem piracy but not violate privacy laws or Internet freedoms espoused by the Federal Communications Commission.

Pirate-Proofing Hollywood

Video fingerprinting could remove a lot of the guesswork for moviemakers.

Right now, tinseltown is all agog over Johnny Depp's latest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. But a different piracy saga may have a more lasting impact on the industry. By the end of May, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) will report to its member studios the results of tests of a dozen computerized video-fingerprinting systems. This technology is designed to identify pirated movies wherever they exist on the Internet, automating a job that is now done by staffers who look for infringing clips with their own eyes.

Fingerprinting systems could be a crucial link in the battle to control video content on the Net. Most studios and TV networks have come to terms with the idea that they need to make shows available on the Net. However, tensions over whether they get paid for clips recently led Viacom to slap Google Inc.'s video site YouTube with a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit. The MPAA is expected to report that the technology, after years of testing, is now ready for prime time. Says MPAA Vice-President Dean Garfield: "This technology works."

But that doesn't guarantee video Web sites will agree to deploy it. Many of the Web giants, including MySpace.com (owned by media giant News Corp. ), Microsoft, and Yahoo!, have said they plan to do so. But others--particularly YouTube--are moving more slowly, say sources in the industry. One reason is it's still not clear who will pay for video search. The systems must be deployed both by the studios, which create a database of film "fingerprints" or markers, and by the video sites, which run user-uploaded videos through software to find matches.

TIPS FOR CLIPS

The hunt for viable video-fingerprinting technology is akin to an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In recent years, many video sites have done deals with Audible Magic Corp. in hopes of using its music-search technology to spot pirated films and TV shows by analyzing sound tracks. But what if they've been dubbed into Chinese or Italian? Also, hackers have plenty of ways to disguise pirated video. To throw off studio screeners, they may change the name of a clip or start with a few seconds of a home movie. Many older fingerprinting technologies can be duped by tilting the image slightly so that the bits are harder to recognize.

But screening companies are making progress. Two-year-old Vobile Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., did well in the MPAA tests, with technology that extracts what it calls "video DNA" from a movie. Executives won't say what that DNA is but say it lets them spot even a few seconds of a fingerprinted film. In a demonstration, CEO Yangbin Wang shows how the software identified a fuzzy scene of Walt Disney Co.'s The Jungle Book shot at an angle with a camcorder.

Instead of just using the fingerprinting technology to prevent access to pirated material, the film studios say they want to strike deals that would squeeze dollars out of clips. They suggest someone who tries to download a pirated episode of a hot show like Lost could be asked to pay $2.99. Or a site might let viewers watch the car-chase scene in Bullitt free of charge, so long as they put up with a Chrysler ad. Ad revenues would be shared by the site and the copyright- holding studio.

Google has said it is working on its own video-fingerprinting technology but hasn't announced a timetable for deployment. In the meantime, YouTube has limited technology to keep offending clips from popping back up once they've been identified. And its 10-minute limit on clips prevents the loading of whole shows. "We're always working on whatever we can think of to help copyright holders protect their rights," says Glenn Brown, a Google lawyer.

But studio executives and suppliers of fingerprinting systems complain that the search giant is singularly resistant to negotiations. Google has a partnership with Audible Magic, but industry insiders say that company's technology for fingerprinting music is not yet up to the task of identifying video.

Or, as some industry officials suggest, the hurdle may not be technological at all. Google may not have decided yet how much of the online box office it wants to share with Hollywood.

Microsoft's outreach memo

Company's letter offers anti-piracy aid
By BEN FRITZ, Variety

Looking to strengthen ties with Hollywood as it delves deeper into online video, Microsoft on Tuesday sent a memo to top execs at all the major media congloms offering to work closely with them to combat piracy, but not to implement the kind of filtering technology Viacom is demanding on YouTube.

Confidential memo obtained by Daily Variety was sent by Microsoft to media toppers such as News Corp.’s Peter Chernin, NBCU’s Jeff Zucker and Disney’s Bob Iger as well as heads of the major labels. It outlines the tech giant's approach to Soapbox, its newly launched viral video service on MSN that is going up against YouTube, MySpace Video and others.

In the letter, media and entertainment VP Blair Westlake said Microsoft is developing "what we believe content owners want and need: industry-leading notice and takedown ... practices, including tools that enable our content partners to more easily find content that is rightfully theirs and give us prompt notice so we can respond even more efficiently and expeditiously."

There's no mention of filtering technology that prevents users from uploading copyrighted content.
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Sources at Microsoft said the company doesn't yet consider any filtering technologies on the market to be effective enough for itself and users. "Filtering is a complex issue and not a magic bullet," one person at the company said. "We believe this approach actually provides content owners more control than if Microsoft attempted to monitor content itself."

Many critics have complained filtering technology isn't precise and sometimes screens out content that is similar to other copyrighted material or is legally used, such as short clips for parody.

However, takedown requests by big media companies aren't perfect either. When Viacom told YouTube to pull more than 100,000 clips featuring its content, some users complained their personal videos were inaccurately named by the conglom and removed in the process.

Soapbox, which is still in a public beta trial run and has a miniscule amount of content and visitors compared with YouTube, already has numerous copyrighted clips from "South Park," "High School Musical," "American Idol" and other TV shows, films and musicvideos.

Staying on Hollywood's good side is a priority for Microsoft, which distributes studio movies and TV shows on its Xbox Live service and licenses its Windows Media DRM to virtually every music and video download store except iTunes.

Though most congloms have indicated they would prefer to see their copyrighted content filtered out, a person at one major studio indicated they're pleased to see Microsoft proactively reaching out, noting it's a preferable approach compared with many other online video operators.

Can sex be stopped

Metacafe uses a video search 'footprint'

Unlike YouTube, MetaCafe the 2nd largest independent UGC website (Israeli based Video sharing site with a reported $200 to $300 million valorisation), claims to filter content thanks to:

• a video search “footprint” that eliminates duplicates & improves relevancy
• 100,000 reviewers filter out inappropriate or uninteresting content.