I just saw a piece in the New York Times about YouTube’s new approach to the problem of user-uploaded commercial content. Previously, copyright holders could use the site’s Video ID feature to scan for infringing content, and could then at their discretion issue DMCA takedown requests.

Now, they also have the option to partner with YouTube and share in ad revenues from the videos. The problem was always more about YouTube’s profit than it was about the uploaders. YouTube has become a kind of de facto public medium where consumers share and react to mainstream media images, which is often helpful for brands. This kind of arrangement could help to reduce the tension between the owners of those images and the host site.

-Nick