Peter Burrows reported this week in Businessweek on the growth of content monitoring systems, which finally may be coming of age as huge content owners (such as the AP) begin to embrace them to locate use of their content online. (See Bloggers: Big Media Is Watching.)  

But why is the AP turning to companies like Attributor who promise to “Set your content free (and monetize it)?” Will content monitoring cause a chilling effect on the Internet as reviews, critiques, parodies and other fair uses are “monetized” by content owners?  Or will it simply allow the owners of registered copyrights to track use of their content and stop infringing uses of their content? Among the uses of Attributor’s software is the ability to automate DMCA takedown notices, which some large content owners have been accused of using inappropriately in the past.

Pricing information is unavailable on Attribtor’s site, but according to TechCrunch, the enterprise service costs anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, but a more limited self-serve version for smaller publishers could cost as little as $6 or $7 per month, and may launch this year.  The technology sounds promising for content owners wanting to obtain useful, automated information about how their content is used online, but for now, it looks like a tool for big players only.

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