A new technology that allows television programme makers to profit from piracy is to be launched by MySpace, the social networking site, and MTV Networks.

MySpace and Auditude, an online advertising technology company, are working with Viacom’s MTV to make money from video clips put online by users in contravention of copyright. Millions of people take advantage of simple technology to upload video content every day to popular sites such as YouTube or MySpace, whether or not they own the rights to the content. MySpace and Google, which owns YouTube, typically remove content when copyright owners complain.

When people use MySpace, which is owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times, to post MTV video clips online, Auditude’s technology will allow MTV to identify even small clips of its content by matching audio and video fingerprinting against a database of its programs.

The broadcaster, the parent company of such channels as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, will then be able to run online ads beside the uploaded content, instead of issuing orders for the content to be taken down and pursuing lawsuits. MTV will also be able to add a video overlay to clips, which advertises their source, their original broadcast date, and has links to purchase entire episodes or other related content.

“There is a very strong, aggressive trend to user-syndicated or user-curated content,” said Jeff Berman, MySpace’s president of sales and marketing. “Rather than fighting that aggressive trend, you’d rather go with it.”

Mr Berman declined to say how much money that MySpace, MTV and Auditude could make from the arrangement, but he described the opportunity as “significant”.

“This is a game-changer,” Mr Berman said. “We’re going from a world of ‘no’ to a world of ‘yes’ while protecting the rights of the copyright holder.”

The Auditude technology is similar to a system employed on YouTube that gives content owners the choice of removing infringing material or serving an ad.

These systems have profound implications for the online video market-place. The prospect of reclaiming pirated content and attaching advertising would increase the appeal of the medium to marketing groups.

Commentators last night pointed to a valuable source of data for companies to use in commissioning and distributing new programs.

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