YouTube’s ‘Checks’ tool allows creators to screen uploads for copyrighted content

Hi folks,

I came across this article while doing some research/thinking about copyright. Of course, this is an American company and content is thus subject not only to different laws but a view of copyright that differs from our own in a number of significant ways. That said, a few things immediately came to mind in reading this piece in the context of what we have been learning in this course.

First, I cannot help but think this technology-based approach to preventing copyright infringement before it ever happens (which I suspect we will begin to see more of) lacks some of the nuance that we would consider appropriate and even necessary to a copyright claim. I wonder about the involvement of algorithms in an area full of slippery and shifting concepts of what constitutes communication, a substantial part of a work, etc. This does not mean that reliance on something like the Checks tool is inherently bad, however. In the end, it is meant to warn creators of potential copyright issues and give them a chance to resolve them before they escalate.

My second (and related) observation has to do with what these kinds of copyright-detection technologies might mean for the stated purpose of copyright law in Canada, namely “to balance the public interest in promoting the encouragement and dissemination of works of the arts and intellect and obtaining a just reward for the creator”: Théberge v Galerie d’Art du Petit Champlain inc, [2002] 2 SCR 336. I cannot help but wonder if these tools might have a chilling effect on the creation and dissemination of certain kinds of works. A content creator might understandably feel dissuaded from posting content that has been flagged for potential copyright infringement and might not have the time or resources to pursue the matter should such a flag be raised.

Finally, and more generally, it is fascinating to see some of the work of IP law being taken out of the hands of lawyers and humans altogether. It seems like it will only be a matter of time before things like the automated early detection of copyright infringement make their way to court as some IP issues inevitably escalate into legal action. Will what these computers have to tell us form part of the arguments or evidence? Time will tell.