BitTorrent, MPAA Reach Strange Agreement
Forbes.com, Wednesday, November 23, 2005 11 AM
BitTorrent, an open-source software program that lets users swap files, has made a curious deal with the Motion Picture Association of America, saying it (BitTorrent ) will do its utmost to curb illegal file swapping on its Web site, specifically by removing pirated files from its search engine, according to Forbes.com. The curious part is that unlike Napster, which enabled such illegal file swapping through its central server, BitTorrent is just software that can be endlessly tweaked by its users, like different strains of the same flu. In other words, there's not much BitTorrent can do to enforce the promise it's making to the MPAA. In fact, according to research firm BigChampagne, the BitTorrent site doesn't even crack the top 20 list of sites specializing in BitTorrent files. Ostensibly, the deal will one day offer motion picture studios a chance to be distribution partners for digital files of their content, but more than anything, the agreement simply means that Hollywood won't be suing BitTorrent over the actions of its users. One wonders how the Grokster folks feel about this one....
Read the whole story at Forbes.com »
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