Audible Magic Review: An Article on Live Streaming and the New European Copyright Directive
Whether you agree with the new European Copyright Directive or not, an objective of the Directive was to ‘clarify’ the definition and obligations of online content sharing service providers (“OCSSP”). One area which remains unclear, however, is the application of the Directive to ‘live streaming’ platforms – which in these times are becoming an increasingly significant category of media.
A new article by one of Europe’s leading copyright law experts, Dr. Eleonora Rosatii, examines live streaming services in the context of existing EU copyright law and the new 2019 EU Directive on Copyright.
Conclusion: Live Streaming Platforms Classified as OCSSPs
Dr. Rosati’s analysis concludes that live streaming platforms fall within the definition of an ‘online content sharing service provider’ under the new 2019 EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (The Copyright Directive). These platforms can, therefore, be held directly liable for copyright infringement by making infringing streams, initiated by their users, available to the public.
In this respect, the Copyright Directive does not materially alter their position as it stood under EU law prior to the Directive being passed. What is different, is Article 17 provides live streaming platforms protection from liability, if they make best efforts to get licenses and take measures according to high industry standards to ensure the non-availability of infringing content via their platform.
Summary of Analysis
Given the huge spike in live streams of DJ sets during the COVID-19 pandemic, this timely article looks at live-streamed performances and notes that, if the performance had taken place in a public venue, the venue would have been required to obtain copyright licenses.
Dr. Rosati examines the situation of a hypothetical Platform X: DJs upload live streams of their performances which include the playing of copyright sound recordings. Platform X stores the material only for so long as necessary to enable the uploads to be transcoded and then streamed to an audience of frustrated would-be club-goers. Storage is therefore ephemeral, and no copies of the DJ sets are stored for future on-demand streams or downloads. The live streams are indexed by the platform, enabling would-be listeners to search and find streams or DJs they like.
The author explores the platform’s direct liability under the principles of existing EU law for making user-generated content available to the public. These principles were developed in successive cases decided by The Court of Justice of the European Union, culminating in the express finding of direct liability in the 2017 decision in Ziggo (the Pirate Bay case)(C-610/15). The precise nature and scope of this liability remains uncertain as evidenced by the number of CJEU referrals currently pending in this area (YouTube, C-682/18; Elsevier (C-683/18); Stichting Brein (C-442/19); and Puls 4 TV (C-500/19)).
Dr. Rosati says that it is not surprising that the Copyright Directive is characterized (in Recital 64) as a ‘clarification’ of existing law. She points out that where Article 17 goes beyond the pre-2019 EU copyright regime, it is not in the direct liability of OCSSPs for acts of communication or making available to the public, but in the regime that it establishes around that potential liability.
The article also examines whether a live streaming service can be considered an Online Content-Sharing Service Provider (OCSSP). Article 2(6) of The Copyright Directive defines an OCSSP as an online service, one of whose main purposes is “to store and give the public access” to large amounts of copyright content which it “organizes and promotes for profit-making purposes.” The issue is whether the ephemeral nature of the storage disqualifies the live streaming platform from being classified as an OCSSP. Rosati examines this question in-depth in the context of the Copyright Directive and the E-Commerce Directive and concludes:
“Live streaming providers that behave like Streaming Platform X in the example above are to be regarded as OCSSPs, even if the storage made of user-uploaded content is limited in time. What is relevant for the qualification of a provider as an OCSSP in principle is the purpose that it pursues (to store and give the public access to a large amount of protected subject matter uploaded by users) and, with that, the role that it performs (organization and promotion of such subject matter for profit-making purposes), not the duration (e.g., permanent or temporary storage of protected content) of the activity at hand.”
Dr Rosati concludes that the activities of the live streaming platforms are therefore governed by Article 17(4) of the Copyright Directive, and because of that, OCSSPs can protect themselves from liability, if they make efforts to obtain licenses for the content, and in the absence of any license, use best efforts, according to high industry standards, to prevent the availability of unlicensed content contained in the live streams. In conclusion, if live streaming platforms are classified as OCSSPs, the new Copyright Directive provides them a new ‘safe-harbour’ from liability provided they meet their other Article 17 obligations.
Commentary: Platforms Benefit from Safe Harbour as 2019 Copyright Directive OCSSP
The relevance of this article to live streaming platforms is clear and the implications are significant. Any live streaming service that gives public access to large amounts of copyright content uploaded by users, which it organizes and promotes for profit-making purposes, can be held directly liable for copyright infringement. This applies to both pre- and post- 2019 EU Copyright Directive regimes.
Prior to the Directive, even if a live streaming platform tried to get licenses and employed content recognition technologies to prevent unlicensed uploads, the platform would be liable for any infringing content that managed to get uploaded to its platform.
The new Copyright Directive changes that: The platform can now protect itself from direct liability by taking the steps prescribed in Article 17(4). These include using best efforts, according to high industry standards, to ensure the non-availability of content, in respect of which the copyright owner has provided relevant and necessary information.
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[i] Associate Professor in Intellectual Property (IP) Law at Stockholm University; Guest Professor at CEIPI-Université de Strasbourg; Research Associate and Lecturer at EDHEC Business School; Associate at the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Cambridge; Of Counsel at Bird & Bird; and Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (Oxford University Press, peer-reviewed). Dr. Rosati holds law degrees from the University of Florence, an LLM from the University of Cambridge, and PhD from the European University Institute.
Audible Magic Corporation Review is issued for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed or used as general legal advice. Please contact the author(s) or your Audible Magic Corporation contact if you have questions regarding the currency of this information.
For more than 20 years, Audible Magic has innovated solutions to identify content, manage rights, and monetize media. Audible Magic’s Emmy-winning automatic content recognition (ACR) technology powers billions of transactions monthly. The Silicon Valley pioneer is the trusted intermediary among rights holders (including labels, studios, distributors, publishers, and collectives) and major platforms.
Audible Magic is a service mark and trade name of Audible Magic Corporation ©2020 Audible Magic Corporation. All rights reserved.
Plan Now
It is important to start planning now on how to meet the requirements and understand the impact of the Directive on your business.
Below are some resources to help you understand the Directive and how it may impact your business.
- Take our A17 Assessment Survey for platforms to assess if the Directive affects your company and then assess your readiness to comply
- Understand how small social networks will be impacted
- Read the full text of the Directive
- And more is available on our Article 17 page as well as in our blog section
Audible Magic and Stadeum Sports Partner to Fight Piracy in Romania
Partnership Protects Liga Profesionista de Fotbal Club Content Across Social Media Networks
July 23, 2019 (LOS GATOS, Calif.) – Audible Magic, the industry standard for content identification linked to digital rights, and Stadeum Sports, who is digitally transforming football in Romania, announced a partnership to fight piracy impacting sports leagues in Romania. Using Audible Magic’s technology, Stadeum works on social media platforms to remove infringing pages that often host unauthorized live or pre-recorded video content.
Stadeum monitors social media networks on behalf of Romania’s professional football league Liga Profesionista de Fotbal (LPF) and its 14 member clubs. The company works diligently with social media platforms to take down fake pages, and unauthorized video clips and live streams of matches. Additionally, through their partnership with Audible Magic, Stadeum protects against unauthorized sharing and enables authorized club content to be legitimately shared on their official social media networks.
“I am very thankful to Audible Magic and Stadeum Sports for their engagement and support in this important LPF initiative,” said Robert Pongracz vice president of LPF. “We consider the fight against piracy an essential objective to increase the value of our IP in the future. This step will provide us great opportunities to further develop the game in the digital world and to deliver huge benefits for the football community and our member clubs.”
Audible Magic’s Emmy Award™ winning technology fingerprints registered content that has been provided to Stadeum by the football clubs. Once the authorized content has been registered it is assigned a unique fingerprint, which can be identified across the social platforms that Audible Magic has relationships with. This process ensures the legitimate use of audio and video content, including live streams of media in real-time, for the rightful owner.
“As the pioneer of automated content recognition, we view our foray into sporting events as a natural extension for the use of our technology,” said Vance Ikezoye, president and chief executive officer at Audible Magic. “The process of registering content to prevent unauthorized use of audio and video, both pre-recorded and live events, will allow the LPF football clubs to re-direct energy to invest in the production of content that can be made available to fans around the world through the clubs' official social media pages.”
About Stadeum
Digital technology is unlocking unprecedented opportunities in the sports industry, offering the potential to draw fans closer through innovative and customized experiences. To capitalize on this opportunity, however, digital will need to be embedded in every aspect of the business, transforming people, process, and technology. Stadeum Sports helps teams, leagues, and players navigate this digital transformation that is rapidly unlocking new opportunities for growth.
About Audible Magic
For more than 20 years, Audible Magic has innovated solutions to identify content, manage rights, and monetize media. Audible Magic's Emmy-winning automatic content recognition (ACR) technology powers billions of transactions monthly. The Silicon Valley pioneer is the trusted intermediary among rightsholders (including labels, studios, distributors, publishers, and collectives) and major platforms.
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Audible Magic Launches AMLive™ to Protect Against Rebroadcasting Premium Content by Users of Live Streaming Platforms
Los Gatos, CA (April 3, 2018) — Audible Magic Corporation, the leader in audio and video digital content identification solutions, announced today the availability of AMLive — a new service to identify unauthorized user streams of premium content registered by rights holders. The service addresses industry needs to protect live sports, live-broadcasted music and other premium content. AMLive operates on both live streams and video-on-demand.
Using a simple dashboard or via an API to integrate into existing workflows, AMLive makes it easy for broadcasters and programmers to register live broadcast events. Once content is registered with Audible Magic, the social platforms can automatically identify and block unauthorized streams in real-time.
“Content owners can now more easily ensure their valuable content is available only from authorized streaming services.” said Vance Ikezoye, Co-founder and CEO of Audible Magic. “AMLive is well suited for the live sports industry, where piracy of live streams is a major concern. The service also addresses a growing issue where recorded music is streamed live by bedroom DJs.”
“What makes Audible Magic unique in the industry is we provide a service used and paid for by the social platforms to proactively prevent the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content. The social platforms then make the service available to any content owner who wants to register content they own or control. AMLive enables greater cooperation between the social platforms and the content industry.”
Audible Magic is recognized for its pioneering work in audio and video digital fingerprinting, the foundation behind its content recognition technology, and is a trusted provider among both platforms and rights owners. With the launch of AMLive, Audible Magic expands its portfolio beyond video-on-demand (VOD) services.
Audible Magic will be discussing AMLive and other recent developments with content owners and OVSPs at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas, April 9-11. Please contact [email protected] to schedule a meeting.
Additional information on AMLive can be found at http://bit.ly/ampr318
New Mobile App Enhances Cinema Experience for the Vision Impaired
Swedish Cinema Uses Audible Magic Content Recognition to Synchronize Audio Descriptions and Spoken Subtitles with Movie Sound Tracks
April 08, 2015 12:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audible Magic, the leading provider of automatic content recognition software solutions announced that Cybercom Group of Stockholm, Sweden has licensed its technology for Sweden’s “Available Cinema” project, making movie experiences more accessible to those with sight and reading impairments.
Available Cinema, a government project managed by the Swedish Film Institute in cooperation with the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, enables audiences with any range of vision impairment or dyslexia to enjoy pre-recorded audio descriptions of the screen action and spoken subtitles. A mobile app provides narrative through the user’s earphones, using Audible Magic’s audio fingerprinting technology for frame-accurate synchronization with the movie soundtrack.
Lisa Wacklin, project manager for Available Cinema at the Swedish Film Institute says, “It's a huge change. In the past, audio descriptions were performed live and limited to about 150 movie screenings per year. Now they will be available for more than 150,000 screenings every year in Sweden.”
Cybercom created the Disabilities Platform, consisting of a software development kit, which can be easily incorporated within a mobile app, and separate tools to enable movie post-producers to package ‘fingerprints’ of the movie soundtrack with audio descriptions for app users to download from Sweden’s Cinema Guide server. The Swedish Film Institute intends to make the Disabilities Platform available internationally to movie distributors, broadcasters and organisations representing the vision and reading impaired.
“Working with Cybercom on this project has been truly rewarding,” said Mike Edwards, General Manager EMEA for Audible Magic. “Witnessing the delight of users at the launch is an experience I will not forget.”
“It is a very successful project with great cooperation between our companies,” said Cybercom project manager Magnus Månsson.
Audible Magic is the trusted leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) fingerprinting technologies. The company offers a broad range of hosted solutions as well as hardware and software products that identify audio and video content, synchronize actions between media devices, trigger user interactivity and generate usage reporting. Audible Magic’s customers and partners span technology and media industries and include industry leaders such as Dailymotion, Deluxe Media, Ensequence, Intel, Sling Media, Sony Music and SoundCloud.
Cybercom is an IT consulting company that assists leading companies and organisations to benefit from the opportunities of the connected world. The company’s areas of expertise span the entire ecosystem of communications services. Cybercom’s domestic market is the Nordic region, and in addition the company offers global delivery capacity for local and international business. Cybercom was founded in 1995 and has been quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm exchange since 1999.
The Swedish Film Institute works to promote film across the board – from idea to finished product, during launch in Sweden and around the world, and by preserving films for posterity in their archives.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) monitors the electronic communications and postal sectors in Sweden. The Authority provides leadership on consumer and competition issues, efficient utilization of resources and secure communications.
What’s Going On With Twitch and Audible Magic?
During the last few days the Internet has been buzzing with comments about Audible Magic as a service provider to Twitch.tv. Some of these comments contain rumors or misinformation, so we’ll mention a few things in this post to raise the level of information out there.
What happened?
Twitch turned on a new feature that aids its site in protecting copyright owners. When Twitch users' VOD videos contain copyrighted media content that has been flagged by the copyright owner as a “do not share” item, Twitch responds with an action to mask a portion of audio.
What’s Audible Magic’s part in this?
Twitch contracted Audible Magic to provide a content matching service. Twitch provides Audible Magic a sample of audio content and Audible Magic reports if a match is found in a database of submitted works. Matches, plus the content owner’s specified business rules, are reported to Twitch, and Twitch handles all actions from there. Audible Magic performs no blocking of content. Audible Magic is simply an information provider.
What’s in Audible Magic’s database?
Audio and video media copyright owners or their licensed agents submit “fingerprints” of media works, enabling those works to be identified by Audible Magic matching services. The copyright owners also submit business rules to associate with those works. If a copyright owner does not want their work shared freely on individual social media sites, they provide business rules specifying that. Copyright owners can also submit “allow” rules by title. Each month, Audible Magic receives on average 250,000 new media titles, including each title’s business rules, submitted by copyright owners to Audible Magic’s database.
Does Audible Magic work for the copyright holders?
Audible Magic receives no revenue from any media copyright owner for registering content in its database or for providing a matching service. Our paying customers are companies, like Twitch, that are looking for matching services to automate a part of their process or workflow.
What if Audible Magic incorrectly reports a match?
We believe Audible Magic offers the most highly trusted matching service available. We treat any match error as a bug, and we aggressively pursue prompt resolution of all bugs. We’re very serious about getting it right.
What’s next?
Audible Magic is devoted to continual improvement of its products and services. We work closely with our clients and partners to ensure we offer the best possible solutions. We also proactively evolve with our customers and their user’s needs to improve solution offerings. We are always open to feedback about how our services can be enhanced or what we can do to help our customers deliver great products.
Audible Magic, SportsData Announce Live Broadcast-Synchronized Sports Information Service for Broadcasters, App Developers
LOS GATOS, Calif.--Audible Magic, the market leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) solutions, today announced it is bundling its TV content identification and synchronization technology with information services from SportsData, the fastest-growing sports data company in the United States. Available today, these bundled services provide broadcasters and app developers the ability to present play-by-play sports information as events are watched on television.
Audible Magic will demonstrate this synchronized-information solution April 7-10 at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, booth SU10112.
Many broadcasters and app developers already use Audible Magic’s ACR technology to recognize TV content playing on or near a smart device such as a phone, tablet or set-top box. Once a TV show’s audio content is identified, the ACR function also allows apps to present information content synchronized with the events of the program. With the Audible Magic-SportsData Synchronization Bundle, play-by-play statistics and other information can be presented as a game unfolds.
The information synchronization works whether the game is being watched live or viewed from a delayed playback source, such as a DVR or video stream. The bundle can enhance viewing of a wide range of televised sports, including professional and college football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, auto racing, horse racing, tennis, and soccer.
In Audible Magic’s demonstration at NAB, a tablet app “listens” over its microphone to a basketball game playing on a nearby TV. The app initially recognizes which game is being watched. Then, as action unfolds, the app displays information about the players and the plays they just executed. The app also displays graphics pinpointing the location of the play just made.
“We anticipate sports broadcasters and app developers applying a great deal of creativity using this bundled service,” said Curt Dowdy, Audible Magic’s vice president of marketing. “With this kind of solution running on mobile apps, set-top boxes and smart TVs, very soon viewers will experience entirely new and compelling ways to interact with their favorite sports and players’ stats.”
“We are thrilled to partner with a leading technology provider like Audible Magic,” said Rob Phythian, CEO of SportsData. “This synchronization service will help companies deliver innovative first and second screen products to meet the real-time information needs of today’s highly engaged sports fans.”
The SportsData Synchronization Service extends Audible Magic’s already robust set of media content identification and information databases. The company also provides hosted content identification and synchronization for live and archived TV shows, live and archived TV advertising, motion pictures and music tracks.
About Audible Magic Audible Magic provides technologies that make media devices, apps and networks content aware. The company is the trusted leader in digital fingerprinting techniques that recognize audio and video content in all forms across radio and television broadcasts, Internet streams, cable and satellite transmissions, and stored digital files, and on consumer devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets, and other appliances. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded more than 25 patents in the U.S. and in Europe. Currently Audible Magic has more than 200 customers and partners in technology, entertainment and media, including CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Ensequence, EMI, Facebook, Fox, Intel, Metacafe, NBCUniversal, Sony, Soundcloud, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, and Warner Music.
About SportsData Founded in 2010, SportsData is the fastest-growing sports data provider in the U.S. With a veteran technology team and over 100 data entry analysts, SportsData captures live play-by-play, scoring, and statistical data, and delivers that information in real-time to a wide range of companies in the media, technology, and sports industries for use in web, mobile, and second screen applications. As a subsidiary of Sportradar, the leading, worldwide premium partner for the sports betting and media industry, SportsData provides sports coverage for 40+ sports, 800+ leagues, and 200,000+ annual events.
Contacts
Audible Magic
Jill Pescosolido, 408-399-6405 x225
[email protected]
www.audiblemagic.com
Audible Magic Provides Automatic Content Recognition to Intel® Integrated Native Developer Experience
BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile World Congress — Audible Magic, the leader in automatic content recognition (ACR) solutions, announced that the Intel® INDE (Integrated Native Developer Experience) Media Pack for Android, will utilize Audible Magic’s ACR software development kit to deliver new compelling rich multimedia experiences. Additionally, Audible Magic announced that it has been selected to the Intel® Software Premier Elite Partner program.Read more
Audible Magic’s TV Content Recognition Services Now Integrated into Sling Media’s SlingPlayer for iPad
SlingPlayer for iPad version 3.2 provides users with enhanced information displays by recognizing the show being watched
Los Gatos, California, February 18, 2014—Audible Magic, the leader in automated content recognition (ACR) solutions, revealed that Sling Media is a licensee of Audible Magic’s ACR technology, which has been integrated into the Slingbox 500. Additionally, Sling Media is subscribing to Audible Magic’s TV show recognition database to provide enhanced experiences for Slingbox 500 customers.
The Slingbox 500 delivers live, recorded and on-demand video of all of your favorite TV shows, sporting events, recorded programming and premium content to your mobile device of choice in up to Full HD 1080p resolution, with no additional subscription fees required. With the release of SlingPlayer 3.2 for iPad, Slingbox 500 customers watching content remotely can now also pull up information about the shows they are watching.
Previous generations of Slingbox required customers to select a show from the program guide to access information about the TV content relayed from a user’s homes to SlingPlayer apps. Now, using Audible Magic technology and services, the Slingbox 500 identifies the TV program currently playing and provides information to the remote player about that show. The content identification works whether the show is sourced from live TV or from a delayed playback device like a digital video recorder (DVR).
“Sling Media’s adoption of our content-recognition technology and identification database services is another example of how ACR technologies are rapidly expanding and being deployed throughout the media ecosystem,” said Curt Dowdy, Audible Magic’s vice-president of marketing. “We’re making smart devices and apps even smarter. A set-top box that otherwise would have limited access to broadcast metadata can now reassemble that program information and provide useful benefits to the end user.”
“SlingPlayer for iPad is creating a new media-rich experience around TV with the ability to pull more information about what viewers are watching. Automated content recognition plays a key role in making this experience possible for our users,” said Mark Maisenbacher, Sling Media’s product manager for SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad.
Complementing the ACR technology embedded in the Slingbox 500, Audible Magic hosts a TV recognition database that contains records used to identify any show playing on US national TV networks. Audible Magic ACR technology running in the Slingbox 500 calls upon the database to identify the show, enabling program information to be accessed and then relayed to the SlingPlayer for iPad app.

About Audible Magic Audible Magic provides technologies that make media devices, apps and networks content aware. The company is the trusted leader in digital fingerprinting techniques that recognize audio and video content in all forms across radio and television broadcasts, Internet streams, cable and satellite transmissions, stored digital files, and on consumer devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets, and other appliances. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded more than 25 patents in the U.S. and in Europe. Currently Audible Magic works with more than 200 customers and partners in technology, entertainment and media, including CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Ensequence, EMI, Facebook, Fox, Intel, Metacafe, NBCUniversal, Sony, Soundcloud, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, and Warner Music.
Entropic to Embed Audible Magic's SmartID Technology into the Set-top Box System-on-a-Chip Platform
Platform Connects Service Providers and Advertisers with Consumers in Real-Time to Increase TV Interactivity
LAS VEGAS (Consumer Electronics Show), January 8, 2013—Audible Magic and Entropic (NASDAQ: ENTR), a world leader in semiconductor solutions for the connected home, today announced the port of Audible Magic's SmartID™ ACR (automatic content recognition) technology onto the Entropic set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform, which gets embedded into STB devices used by MVPDs. Leveraging an ACR-enabled STB, service providers and advertisers gain an opportunity to monetize digital entertainment and give consumers new ways to interact with various brands as they watch live and recorded TV. The Entropic/Audible Magic platform will be shown using STBs available today at the Audible Magic booth #75314 in Eureka Park at the Venetian as well as Entropic's Meeting Suite at the Wynn Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 8-11.Read more
Accelerated Media, Audible Magic Team to Aid Interactive Advertisers
Audible Magic to Demo New Cross-Platform Interactive Ad System at CES.
Las Vegas, NV—January 13, 2013—Accelerated Media, a marketing firm that provides analytic and strategic iTV (interactive TV) services to advertisers, and Audible Magic, the leader in automated content recognition (ACR) systems and services, announced that they are joining forces to offer advertisers a more compelling and potentially more rewarding interactive ad experience. The centerpiece of this joint effort, a new cross-platform interactive ad system, will be demonstrated at the Audible Magic booth #75314 in Eureka Park, located in the Venetian at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 8-11.Read more