Online video titan YouTube revealed a new ad unit this week, and it's been causing quite the buzz (or uproar, depending on who you ask). The reason it's getting so much attention is twofold: firstly, it uses a slick Flash technique to overlay a thin ad over top of the video you're trying to watch; secondly, while claiming this to be an innovation, several other companies including Brightcove and VideoEgg are claiming they invented the technique ages ago. So we may yet see this one going to court for patent infringement, though VideoEgg, who has apparently filed for a patent on the technique, has said they are not planning on taking this to court... yet.

A few important points have come out of the online discussions, including the fact that these ads will only be overlayed on "commercial content" and not on User Generated Content (personal videos). The real resistance is obviously going to come from the end users. Will they boycott YouTube or avoid the content that displays these ads? Or will they shrug their shoulders and suck it up and accept it as a fair and equitable way to "pay" for the otherwise free content? Only time will tell.