MySpace, MTV Monetize Pirated Videos

MySpace has found a way to stop people from posting MTV videos without crediting the source.

The social networking site has joined with Auditude and MTV Networks to post video attribution ads when users upload content. The ads give information about the video and its creators.

Auditude said it has a database of 250 million videos from 100 channels and the company can detect when the copyrighted, or "fingerprinted," material appears on MySpace.

"As one of the leading providers of online video in the world, we give our fans the power not only to consume our content, but also to share and interact with it across the Web," Mika Salmi, president of global digital media at MTV Networks, said in a statement released Monday. "With Auditude's solution, we can continue to give users the freedom to take our content wherever they go online, while ensuring that we can monetize it as well."

The ad matching platform is expected to help MTV Networks and parent company Viacom profit from the distribution of pirated content. Viacom, MySpace and Auditude have agreed to split revenues from the ads, although they did not disclose details. The overlay ads provide users with information about the original content, simultaneously promoting the content, as well as other products.

MySpace boasts about 75 million visitors a month and claims it hosts more than 80,000 videos.

Auditude said its system works with YouTube, Veoh, AOL Video, and other video sharing services. YouTube has a system to detect copyrighted or fingerprinted works but the site has not yet created an ad system for the use of copyrighted content. The site is fighting a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit over hosting Viacom video.