Fox subpoenas YouTube -report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp. studio Twentieth Century Fox subpoenaed Google Inc.'s YouTube video service to learn who uploaded pirated copies of episodes of television shows "24" and "The Simpsons," The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The subpoena, filed January 18, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asks YouTube to hand over information to identify the subscriber so Fox can stop the infringement, the Journal reported.

The four-episode season premiere of thriller show 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, appeared on the site ahead of its TV broadcast, and 12 episodes of the Simpsons were being distributed on YouTube by a subscriber called "ECOtotal," the subpoena's declaration said, according to the paper.

Fox said it officially notified YouTube about the episodes and requested immediate removal or to disable access to the service, the Journal said.

News about the subpoena filed surfaced on the blog, Google Watch.

The same group of episodes were uploaded under the username of Jorge Romero on the video site LiveDigital, to which Fox also issued a subpoena, the paper said.

A spokesman for LiveDigital told the Journal that the material was taken down right away.

Google and Fox officials were not immediately available for comment.