Post by santiagovalez on Feb 27, 2016 8:23:14 GMT
FEBRUARY 26, 2016 | BY ELLIOT HARMON
Content ID and the Rise of the Machines
Copyright Bots Aren’t Always Bad, But They Shouldn’t Be in Charge
In 2007, Google built Content ID, a technology that lets rightsholders submit large databases of video and audio fingerprints and have YouTube continually scan new uploads for potential matches to those fingerprints. Since then, a handful of other user-generated content platforms have implemented copyright bots of their own that scan uploads for potential matches.
Platforms have no obligation to seek out and block infringing content, and such an obligation would entrench existing providers by stifling new platforms before they could achieve popularity. But if a large platform decides it’s in its interests to evaluate every item of user material for potential infringement, the process probably must be automated—at least in part. The problem comes when humans fall out of the picture. Machines are good at many things—making the final determination on your rights isn’t one of them.
Fair Use is Free Speech
U.S. copyright law recognizes a key limitation on the powers given to copyright owners: fair use. Fair use protects a wide range of completely valid uses of copyrighted works, uses that are not considered copyright infringement.
www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/02/content-id-and-rise-machines