Google Ordered To Hand Over YouTube Logs To Viacom

Viacom has been awarded the rights to view YouTubes logs in order to prove its assertion that illegal content has greater appeal than that produced by amateurs. The logs in question contain the username of the YouTube user as well has their IP address. The court however denied Viacom's request for Google's search code. While the intent is not to know what "you" have watched specifically but rather how many people are watching copy righted materials vs. skateboarding dog videos, the potential is there for someone to link you to what you have viewed on the site. From a privacy perspective it's a little scarey! PCWorld.com article here.

YouTube creates filters to identify copy righted video

YouTube has created new tools to help clamp down on the posting of copyrighted materials without permission on the site. Dubbed "Video Identification", the tools "also give copyright owners the chance to leave their video on the service and to sell advertising around the content" according to this BBC article. Until now YouTube had no automated means of determining what is copyrighted and what is not, and relied on copyright owners to identify their works which would then be removed from the site. The new tools still rely on buy in from the owners, as they are required to provide copies of their works to be used for comparison by Video Identification, but at least it is a more proactive stance. YouTube is currently being sued by Viacom for allowing that companies copyrighted content to be viewed on the site.

Public curtain raised on Joost

Joost, the video dream site of Skype's Janus Friis and Kazaa's Niklas Zennström opened it's doors to everyone today, shedding it's beta status. Up until now the free, advertising supported, site was available only to those who could score a private invite. With content providers like Viacom, who brings MTV, BET, Comedy Central, and a limited selection of movies from Paramount, and CNN and MLB on board there is content worth looking at. ars technica's Jacqui Cheng thinks they have a challenge on their hands, particularly in signing on more content providers and finding a hardware partner to move the shows to the TV. This may be true, but it seems to me that the folks who know the television model will be all over this as it's virtually what they have now... easier for them to wrap their heads around than many of the newer ad models.