Two days after YouTube announced the beta launch of their new video identification software, a coalition of several of the world's leading Internet, media, and technology companies announced their joint support for a set of collaborative principles that enable the continued growth and development of user-generated content online and respect the intellectual property of content owners.

The companies supporting these principles include CBS Corp., Dailymotion, Fox Entertainment Group, Microsoft Corp., MySpace, NBC Universal, Veoh Networks Inc., Viacom Inc. and The Walt Disney Company. Interesting enough, Google and YouTube are nowhere to be found on the list.

The principles are to serve as a set of guidelines to help user-generated content (UGC) services and content creators work together towards their collective goal of bringing more content to more consumers through legitimate channels. The principles acknowledge a collective respect for protecting copyrights and recognize that filtering technologies must be effective and are only a part of what is necessary to achieve this goal.

But will words equate to actions? Certainly if all participating companies work together in sharing information or developing a universal water-marking solution that prevents mass distribution of pirated works, that would be a significant achievement. However, only "written principles" and the news of this new coalition just days after YouTube's announcement seems all too protective and coincidental.

Additionally, the last two copyright principles should also be noted, which look to aid these companies in any future legal cases:

• If a UGC Service adheres to all of these Principles in good faith, the Copyright Owner should not assert a claim of copyright infringement against such UGC Service with respect to infringing user-uploaded content that might remain on the UGC Service despite such adherence to these Principles.
• Copyright Owners and UGC Services should continue to cooperate with each other's reasonable efforts to create content-rich, infringement-free services. To that end, Copyright Owners and UGC Services should cooperate in the testing of new content identification technologies and should update these Principles as commercially reasonable, informed by advances in technology, the incorporation of new features, variations in patterns of infringing conduct, changes in users’ online activities and other appropriate circumstances.

The full list of principles, which can be found here, call for a broad range of constructive and cooperative efforts by copyright owners and UGC services. They include:

• Implementation of state of the art filtering technology with the goal to eliminate infringing content on UGC services, including blocking infringing uploads before they are made available to the public;
• Upgrading technology when commercially reasonable;
• Cooperating to ensure that the technology is implemented in a manner that effectively balances legitimate interests, including fair use;
• Cooperation in developing procedures for promptly addressing claims that content was blocked in error;
• Regularly using the technology to remove infringing content that was uploaded before the technology could block it;
• Identification and removal of links to sites that are clearly dedicated to, and predominantly used for, the dissemination of infringing content; and,
• Promotion of content-rich, infringement-free services by continuing to cooperatively test new technologies and by collaboratively updating these principles as appropriate to keep current with evolving developments.

The ease of uploading video content on the Internet has led to the creation of millions of original works by new creators – works that range from scripted programs, to virtuoso musical performances and to humorous skits and social parody. It also has resulted in the proliferation of uploaded content that infringes copyrighted works.

The companies backing these principles believe that they can collectively find a path that fosters creativity while respecting the rights of copyright owners. Distributors of copyright-infringing content stifle both technological innovation and artistic creation in ways that ultimately will hurt the consumer and hinder the digital economy.

These principles also reflect a strongly-held commitment to work cooperatively and constructively across industries to address the challenge of developing new modes of distribution while protecting intellectual property and, with a shared goal of promoting a rich, legitimate, and compelling environment for consumers of online content. While the supporters' current practices may not strictly adhere to each and every principle, they are all committed to fully implementing these principles by year's end.

The companies believe that adopting such principles is essential to achieving the enormous potential opened up by the Internet through UGC services. Widespread adoption of these principles will encourage innovation, enable new creative expression and further the goal of eliminating infringing content from UGC services. It will allow innovative business models to develop. Most importantly, it will benefit consumers by encouraging further cooperation between the creators of content -- from the largest entertainment company to the individual artist -- and the companies that distribute their works.

The supporters urge others to embrace these principles. While recognizing that adhering to these principles may require each company to yield some from positions it has held, at the end of the day the supporters believe all will benefit from such compromise. The supporters look forward to further discussions with other parties to attain their support.

Below are some quotes by the Participating Companies:

Bob Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company
"These principles offer a road map for unlocking the enormous potential of online video and user-generated content. Cooperation among us, aided by emerging technologies, can clear the way for further growth in the availability of online video in ways that will be good for consumers, good for copyright owners and good for uploading services."

Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation
"The cross-industry dialogue that resulted in these principles is an important step forward in establishing the Internet as a great platform for video content – a platform that allows services to innovate and preserves incentives for all creators, big and small, by respecting copyright. With this new, consensus-based foundation, the technology and entertainment industries are demonstrating how we can work collaboratively to build great new video experiences for our mutual customers."

Peter Chernin, President and COO, Fox Entertainment Group
"In the end, technical innovation has always proved to be a positive driver in shaping our businesses and spurring greater and more robust distribution models. The principles unveiled today underscore that conviction by enabling a path that will reward content owners, distributors, and most importantly, consumers."

Philippe Dauman, President and CEO, Viacom Inc.
"We are delighted that so many leading companies have come together behind a set of principles that provide a framework for intellectual property to live in harmony with technical advances. These principles will enable innovative technology and great content to come together to spur greater innovation and, most importantly, much richer entertainment experiences for consumers."

Chris DeWolfe, CEO and co-founder, MySpace
"As part of one of the world's largest media companies and with original content of our own, we're vigilant about respecting and protecting copyrights. Internally, we've developed an industry-leading suite of copyright protections for content owners and we're thrilled to align forces with the world's top media and Internet companies to develop best practices."

Steve Mitgang, CEO of Veoh Networks
"Veoh firmly believes that industry cooperation like this is the key to encouraging innovation that benefits viewers, copyright holders and service providers alike. We wholeheartedly support these principles, and hope that other major media and technology companies will join in our effort to grow this emerging market and give viewers even more access to the high-quality video content they want."

Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation
"The cornerstone of the CBS business is its audience. CBS believes that these principles will assist us in our on-going online delivery to our audience of all the great CBS content, and will help balance the rights and responsibilities of both content owners and sites accepting user generated content. I applaud the cooperation among the participating online operators and the networks."

Mark Zaleski, Executive Chairman, DailyMotion
"Dailymotion strongly believes in the respecting the rights of all copyright owners. As such, our company has been involved in the drafting of these Principles since it began. We are confident that this cooperation with content owners, further aided by audio and video filtering technology that we are currently implementing, is a win-win for all involved. We are proud to continue to be at the edge of innovation in both our product and in copyright protection."

Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal
"Today's announcement marks a significant step in transforming the Internet to a popular medium that respects the rule of law. By recognizing the mutual benefits of a technology-based framework to control piracy, technology and content companies have laid the foundation for the lawful growth of video on the Internet."