Google, which recently announced plans to purchase YouTube for $1.65 billion, is reportedly working to move the video-sharing site from a source of frequent copyright violations to a service that compensates copyright owners for material that appears on the site. Some analysts said that the only reason YouTube has not previously been challenged is that it had little cash. With Google behind it, the operation becomes a much more lucrative target for copyright enforcement efforts. YouTube has developed technology to address copyright infringement issues, but Google is also said to be in talks with major media outlets to come to an arrangement under which their content can be used in exchange for a share of ad revenue. CBS, NBC, News Corp., and Time Warner have reportedly all been approached by Google to negotiate over content.
BBC, 3 November 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6112826.stm
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