Atlanta (GA) - As sites like Youtube and Myspace struggle to keep unauthorized copyrighted content from being uploaded, Philips has introduced a new tool that it says will help identify whether or not a video is pirated.

Philips calls it MediaHedge, and it works by scanning the video file to find digital markings that are reportedly unique to copyrighted content. It checks that with Philips’s database of videos to see if it matches, and if so, will signal a red flag. Copyright holders can ask Philips to include their videos in the MediaHedge database.

It is similar to the service that Youtube has claimed to begin working on, as part of an effort to keep copyright holders from suing the site for copyright infringement. Philips has not yet announced any sites that will be using the MediaHedge technology.