AP facing boycott, to set blogger guidelines

An online petition has been set-up urging bloggers to boycott the Associated Press (AP), after the agency filed takedown notices against Drudge Retort for use of its content on the site.

The campaign run by UnAssociatedPress has gained 75 signatures since it was set-up on Saturday and encourages bloggers to make use of other agency’s material.

Since issuing the takedown notices to the Drudge Retort, AP vice president Jim Kennedy has said the agency’s tactics have been heavy-handed and a more thoughtful approach would be considered going forward.

According to the New York Times, the agency is considering a set of guidelines for bloggers on how to use their content.

In a statement he stressed the importance of bloggers in ‘the news conversation of the day’, but said the agency is concerned by wholesale reproduction of its content, which goes beyond reference.

Tags: Associated Press, Drudge Retort, Jim Kennedy, new york times, the New York Times

YouTomb: where YouTube videos go when they die

Ever wondered where the videos that have fallen off YouTube - or been pushed - end up?

Enter YouTomb - the elephant’s graveyard of clips that have been removed from the video sharing site for copyright infringements and other offences.

Speaking to Wired.com, YouTomb’s creators - a group of students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - say the site isn’t about reshowing illegal material, but is for tracking cases where remixed and satirical clips have been removed for alleged copyright infringements.

“MIT Free Culture became especially interested in the issue after YouTube announced that it would begin using filtering technology to scan users’ video and audio for near-matches with copyrighted material. While automating the takedown process may make enforcement easier, it also means that content falling under fair-use exceptions and even totally innocuous videos may receive some of the collateral damage,” a mission statement on the site reads.

As such the videos on YouTomb are represented by stills and are not available to play, but show stats on how many views they attracted before being pulled.

Despite YouTube’s recent efforts to step up copyright policing and create an automate removal process, removed videos live on in some form through YouTomb, which takes on the mantle of a video watchdog.

According to the site, it is currently monitoring 223834 videos and has identified 4428 videos taken down for alleged copyright violation and 13522 videos taken down for other reasons.

Tags: Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, using filtering technology, video sharing site, YouTube

Toronto Star: Google News respects copyright, says content specialist

Google News respects copyright and is not looking to move into content creation, Josh Cohen, content specialist for the search giant’s news channel, has said in a Q&A with the Toronto Star.

“…[I]t’s really about helping people to find the content that’s out there. We just don’t see ourselves as content creators. We’re more of a platform for that content,” he said.

Tags: google, Josh Cohen, search giant, Toronto Star

BayTSP pilots copyright tracking technology on user-generated content sites

File-sharing tracking specialist Bay TSP is to begin trials of video and audio fingerprinting technology aimed at monitoring copyright infringements on user-generated content sites.

The trials, which will use search technology provided by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corporation (NTT), will allow content owners ‘to monitor and manage how their intellectual property is used online’ focusing on sites like YouTube, Daily Motion, Google Video and Yahoo Video, a press release from the company said.

Central to the tracking of this content is Bay TSP’s ‘fingerprint library’, which uses a series of filters to judge whether ugc on websites includes copyrighted material.

After the testing period is complete, the companies hope to launch a commercial service that will enable content owners to generate audio and video fingerprints for their own material.

“The benefit of our Content Authentication Platform [CAP] is that it works with or without the cooperation of the UGC sites. Preliminary tests have shown that we can provide timely feedback that would allow UGC site operators to remove unauthorized content before large numbers of people can see it,” said Mark Ishikawa, CEO of BayTSP, in the release.

“For UGC sites that want to implement content filtering and negotiate revenue sharing arrangements with content owners, CAP provides independent verification of how the content is displayed, how many people view it, and can calculate revenue sharing using business rules set by the content owner and UGC site operator that can be tailored to each offering.”

Tags: BayTSP, copyright tracking technology, google, Mark Ishikawa, Nippon Telephone, search technology, site operator, Telegraph Corporation, video and audio fingerprinting technology, Yahoo, YouTube

EPUK launches community site for photographers’ copyright issues

EPUK, the website for editorial photographers, has launched a new website to focus on copyright issues.

Copyright Action is a community website for photographers with resources aimed at helping them with their intellectual property queries.

Tags: community site

Why you should always pay the writer

To go with the series of features on online copyright on Journalism.co.uk, thought I’d share this ‘rant’ with you on the subject.

Writer Harlan Ellison sums up the issue of publishers using content without permission and/or thinking it should be free.

(The clip, posted to YouTube, is part of the trailer for film Dreams With Sharp Teeth)

I suspect what he says about Time Warner would be echoed by freelancers and agencies dealing with online publishers: “They want everything for nothing. They wouldn’t go for five seconds without being paid and they’ll bitch about how much they are being paid and want more.”

Tags: Harlan Ellison, Journalism.co.uk, online copyright, online publishers, Time Warner, YouTube

Canon developing built-in watermarking system for photographers

According to site OhGizmo, camera manufacturer Canon has filed a patent for a camera that will take a photo of a photographer’s iris as they take a picture.

This iris image will then act as a watermark and could help snappers identify unlicensed use of their images - particularly online.

On the copyright theme, Kevin Smith, co-founder of picture agency Splash News, discussed with Journalism.co.uk the merits of Scan X - the technology employed by the agency to track their content online and protect revenue.

Smith admitted that the procedure was expensive for Splash - as such putting it out of reach for independent and freelance photographers. However, patents such as Canon’s could see this technology dripping through to a more affordable level.

Tags: camera manufacturer, Canon, Journalism.co.uk, Kevin Smith, OhGizmo, picture agency, Splash News, technology dripping

NTY: Belgium papers could sue EU for linking to stories

A victory in a European court last year against Google has encouraged newspapers in Belgium to take action against the European Commission over links on two agency sites.

According to the Times, a Brussels court has been asked by a group of French- and German-language newspapers to examine its claim.

Tags: Belgium, Brussels, Brussels court, encouraged newspapers, European Commission, European court, European Union, google, The Times