YouTube eases the way to more revenue - NYTimes.com

SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube appears to be mastering the art of turning video piracy into revenue for itself and its partners. For years, the clips of television shows, music videos and other copyrighted content that users uploaded to YouTube without permission were a source of tension between Google, which owns YouTube, and media companies, which owned the copyrights.

But since last year, a growing number of media companies have stopped insisting that YouTube take down those unauthorized clips. Instead, they are choosing to claim the videos as their own, and allowing YouTube to sell advertising when people watch them. The revenue is split between YouTube and the content owners...