YouTube copyright filter nearly ready: Google

Google is very near enacting a filtering service that would prevent copyright content from being uploaded to video-sharing site YouTube, according to CEO Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt made the comments to about 300 people at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas during a one-on-one interview with John Seigenthaler, the former reporter with NBC's Nightly News.

The new system, which he called Claim Your Content, will automatically identify copyright material so it can be removed. "We are very close to turning this on," Schmidt said.

The specific complaints Microsoft has made are clearly false. I think a more likely scenario is that they are making those arguments because they are a competitor of ours.

The filtering system was supposed to have launched last year at YouTube, which Google acquired for $1.6bn in October 2006. Delays in rolling it out have caused consternation among film and TV executives. Executives at NBC and Viacom have accused Google of dragging its feet on preventing YouTube users from uploading clips from hit shows and movies.

Network executives accused Google of stalling so YouTube could reap the big traffic that professionally created shows generate. Viacom filed a $1bn lawsuit against Google last month and accused Google of massive intentional copyright infringement.

Of Viacom, Schmidt said: "You're either doing business with them or being sued by them... we chose the former but ended up the latter."

Schmidt took the opportunity to poke fun at Microsoft's assertion that Google's pending acquisition of DoubleClick may be a threat to fair competition. Other companies, including AT&T and Yahoo!, have also asked regulators to review the transaction closely.

When NBC's Seigenthaler pointed out that Microsoft has expressed concern about Google's size and the safety of privacy on the web, Schmidt said: "The specific complaints Microsoft has made are clearly false. I think a more likely scenario is that they are making those arguments because they are a competitor of ours."

Earlier Seigenthaler noted many in the crowd were in radio and television and many may fear Google has its sites set on their advertising market.

Google said recently that it will begin selling advertisements on all of the radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, the US' largest station owner.

Google has been working to extend its reach into traditional media ad sales but Schmidt denied it is a threat to radio, TV or newspapers. He noted that ad revenues for TV and radio have been relatively flat and implored the audience to realise that they need to bring in new advertisers. His message of course is that Google can help them do that.

He said: "Google is new phenomenon that isn't going to replace radio or TV. It seems to me that Google has an ad business that can add to the success of radio and TV."

Greg Sandoval writes for CNET News.com