Video hosting platform Vimeo has introduced copyright matching technology to ensure it remains “a home for original work — not for rips of movies, TV shows, music videos, and sports broadcasts”.
Announced in a blog post, Vimeo says that unlike other copyright detection systems on other sites it is working hard to strike a balance between cutting down on hosted works that infringe copyright and allowing people to express their creativity with ‘fair use’ of copyrighted content, which is allowed under copyright law.
Fingerprinting
The system works by taking an audio ‘fingerprint’ of any uploaded material and checking it against a database of third-party copyrighted content, including songs, movies and TV shows.
If a match is found, users can: appeal the match by providing more information, inform Vimeo that the material is being used with permission, inform Vimeo that it’s allowed under ‘fair use’ or tell the company that the system made a mistake in matching the track.
If, of course, you happen to know that none of the above apply, you can also delete or replace the video file, or just replace the music track in the case of a music match being detected.
While it’s important for Vimeo to implement a system like this as it continues to grow to prevent widescale copyright infringement taking place on its platform, it will need to be careful about how it is implemented – and that it does manage to strike that balance between protection and allowing expression.
Featured Image Credit – Shutterstock
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