YouTube Video Identification Beta
Thanks to the continued cooperation of content owners large and small, YouTube is able to develop, test and implement increasingly effective content management tools. Today, we are proud to launch, in beta form, our latest innovation in online video: YouTube Video Identification.
Like our other content policies and tools, YouTube Video Identification goes well above and beyond our legal responsibilities. And like those other tools and policies, Video Identification aims for three main goals: accurate identification, choice for copyright holders and a great user experience.
Identification
YouTube Video Identification will help copyright holders identify their works on YouTube. We have worked with Google to develop one-of-a-kind technology that can recognise videos based on a variety of factors. As its Beta status indicates, our Video Identification is brand new, cutting-edge stuff, so we will be constantly refining and improving it. Early tests with content companies have shown very promising results. As we scale and refine our system, YouTube Video Identification will be available to all kinds of copyright holders all over the world, whether they want their content to appear on YouTube or not.
No matter how accurate the tools get, it is important to remember that no technology can tell legal from infringing material without the cooperation of the content owners themselves. This means that copyright holders who want to use and help us refine our Video ID system will be providing the necessary information to help us recognise their work. We aim to make that process as convenient as possible.
Choice
Copyright holders can choose what they want done with their videos: whether to block, promote, or even—if a copyright holder chooses to partner with us—create revenue from them, with minimal friction. YouTube Video ID will help carry out that choice.
No technology can anticipate the preferences of a copyright holder. Today, with millions of people and companies churning out original video, preferences vary widely. Some copyright holders want control over every use of their creation. Many professional artists and media companies post their latest videos without telling us, while some home videomakers don't want their stuff online. Others want their fans to participate in the creative process.
The best we can do is cooperate with copyright holders to identify videos that include their content and offer them choices about sharing that content. As copyright holders make their preferences clear to us up front, we'll do our best to automate that choice while balancing the rights of users, other copyright holders and our community as a whole.
User Experience
As our "Broadcast Yourself" slogan says, YouTube's mission is to help the widest variety of people express themselves online. So we'll continue to focus on delivering the best user experience online today. We're carefully designing our new identification technologies so they do not impede the free and fast communication YouTube has enabled—whether it be political debate, underground marketing or the latest in student comedy.
Building on our Copyright Tips and Audioswap programme and reflecting the balance built into the notice and takedown procedures provided by law, we hope that Video Identification will create even more clarity about users' rights and responsibilities—as well as provide brand new opportunities for fans to interact creatively with their favourite media.
Finally, we think YouTube Video Identification will be a particularly useful and timely tool as we begin extending revenue sharing and other opportunities to a wider audience.
Remember, this is a Beta program, and we expect to hit unforeseen bumps and bottlenecks as we refine, improve and scale the system to meet everyone's needs. So please be patient. If you are a content owner interested in participating in this programme, please complete our sign-up form. We look forward to working with you.