New piracy filtration system launched

A new internet filtering system launched this month is expected to tackle the emerging online piracy generated by the use of cloud storage services, its developer said.

Developed by Shanghai-based Firstbrave Information Technology Co, the new system is designed to help users curb online privacy by automatically searching online storage systems, detecting potential rights infringements and filtering out pirated contents.

With the development of wireless high-speed internet access, cloud storage services have become a popular tool for sharing pictures, music, videos and other audiovisual content that users can conveniently access mobile platforms.

The popularization of such services have also brought challenges for intellectual property rights protection due to the rampant upload and download of pirated content without scrutiny.

Firstbrave's system detects and reports IP rights infringements by comparing user-upload content on cloud storage with equivalent content authorized by genuine rights holders.

"The system will play a significant role in the anti-piracy campaign in the era of cloud computing as it adds a third-party filter that scrutinizes content on popular online storage services," said Wu Guanyong, founder and CEO of Firstbrave.

Launched earlier this month, the system has been adopted by domestic user-generated-content video websites like youku.com. Wu said the system also boasts commercial prospect.