It's doubletalk like this that makes me think Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt is smart to dump his Gooshares by the billions. I have a feeling he knows the whirlwind is coming, despite his public remarks that everything at Google and GooTube is A-OK.
In remarks that are sure to be widely reported, the CEO complains that Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) lawsuit against Google will soon be moot, because GooTube is going to implement "automated reporting tools" to let copyright owners claim their content. Details so far are sketchy, with Schmidt apparently calling it a "filtering" technology, but the phrase "claim your content" seems to betray a system in which copyright owners have to do the work.
It may be a step away from the ridiculous snail-mail requirement now in place. But it doesn't negate Viacom's argument -- unless you live in Schmidt's all-your-content-belongs-to-us fantasy world. And unless you also own a time machine, so you can go back and take care of all that previous copyright infringement that GooTube did next-to-nothing to stop.
Here's the problem. Automated reporting would still put the onus on the content providers to police GooTube for violations. Given the ease of copyright violation -- due to the massive scale of GooTube -- this is an expensive hassle.
Here's a thought: Gootube needs to police itself.
Yes, GooTube should be footing the bill to police its content, not the people being ripped off by the GooTube enabler. Heck, you don't even need software to do this job. A big team of people could scrutinize everything uploaded, and they'd know without a doubt that the copyright on the latest John Stewart clip doesn't belong to "awesomedude451."
But that would be wicked expensive. And it would be a major hassle. And it would also cut back on GooTube viewership, because people go there for the free stuff. That's three powerful incentives for GooTube to fight for the status quo. Unfortunately for Google shareholders, I don't think a court is going to find what sounds like a minor reporting upgrade to be much of an advance.
(By the way, interesting data on so-called "Web 2.0." Turns out people don't go to GooTube to participate: 99.84% are just couch potatoes in desk chairs.)
To follow the Google and Viacom battle:
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At the time of publication, Seth Jayson had no positions in any company mentioned here. See his latest blog commentary here. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. Fool rules are here.
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