AfterTek

The community networking and video-sharing website YouTube could not keep its promise to install anti-piracy software by the year-end to take care of illegal use of copyrighted content on the website.

YouTube admitted Friday that it will not be formally launching the new technology, called content identification system in 2006. It did not provide any details regarding when the system will be available except saying it is carrying out tests in association with some media companies since October.

The highly popular website, now owned by Google, had said in September it will introduce the content identification system a sophisticated technology intended to identify copyrighted music or video being used on the site by its users and prevent it from being displayed by new year.

Several music companies have been waiting for the system to be implemented to go ahead with their plans to cooperate with YouTube. Any failure on the part of the website to implement such a system will also lead to the risk of legal action against the site.

Universal Music had said it plans to take legal action against sites like YouTube and MySpace saying these sites are content infringers and owe the company tens of millions of dollars. Universal had subsequently entered into a partnership agreement with YouTube expecting the website will indeed implement the content identification system to track down copyrighted music.