YouTube removes 30,000 files amid Japanese copyright concerns

The popular U.S.-based video-sharing Web site YouTube has deleted nearly 30,000 files over copyright concerns after being asked by a group representing Japan's entertainment industry, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

The report said that the Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, has found 29,549 files such as video clips from TV programs, music videos and movies posted on YouTube's site without permission.

Acting on behalf of 23 Japanese TV stations and movie and music companies, the group asked YouTube to remove the copyrighted materials, said Fumiyuki Asakura, an official from the organization.

YouTube, based in San Bruno, Calif., quickly removed all the files requested.

Since YouTube started in February 2005, the company has blossomed, now showing more than 100 million video clips per day. YouTube's world-wide audience was 72.1 million by August, up 2.8 million from a year earlier, according to comScore Media Metrix.

The company, which agreed to be acquired by Google Inc. in a 1.65-billion-dollar deal, has already come under fire in the U.S. for displaying copyrighted works. Companies exploring legal implications of potential copyright infringement include News Corp., General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal and Time Warner Inc., among others.

Source: Xinhua