YouTube to 'Fingerprint' Videos by Fall

Lawyers for Google's YouTube subsidiary told a New York District Court judge that it would have a method to "fingerprint" videos in the fall.

The new functionality will help the site find copyrighted videos easier by looking for similarities. It is being developed in conjunction with content providers, and YouTube said it will begin using the new technology by autumn, possibly as early as September.

U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton is hearing three copyright cases brought against YouTube by Viacom, The Football Association Premier League Ltd., and independent music label Bourne. The lawsuits have been combined into one trial.

In order for the system to work, copyright providers will be responsible for giving YouTube clips of copyrighted content to use in the fingerprinting process. It could take as little as a minute or two for videos to be found once they are uploaded.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs welcomed the system, however most seemed to suggest that it came too late. Viacom said it would take another year for it to figure out just how many videos exist on YouTube that are infringing on its copyrights .