A system and method for protecting copyright in content distributed online, in combination with specified business rules. A portion of content presented for upload on a network is analyzed to detect an image associated with a content owner; the image is compared with reference images to identify the content owner; and business rules are applied to control unauthorized uploading of the content. The identifier may be a logo included in the content as a digital graphic, or a non-visual marker. Analysis is advantageously performed on a sample of video frames or a segment of preselected length. If the content is found to be copyrighted, and the attempted upload is unauthorized, uploading may or may not be permitted, and the user may or may not be charged a fee for subsequent access to the content.