The BitTorrent technology isn't intended for movie piracy. Indeed, open-source advocates recently used it to distribute a new release of the Red Hat Linux software, making an end run around clogged company servers. One Web community that specialises in swapping high-quality recordings of live jam bands such as Phish, usually with the bands' permission, also uses the technology. "It's definitely a technological marvel," said Wayne Chang, a Massachusetts college student and system administrator for PickATime.com who has used the technology. "The more people using it, the faster the whole system is." People have quickly seen its potential for unauthorised online distribution of videos and movies as well as for lawful uses, however. Many popular Web sites already offer links to full movies, TV programs, games and music using the technology. The tool has been the most popular download on the open-source software aggregation site SourceForge for some time, with more than 1.4 million downloads as of 20 May. Executives from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the movie studios' trade association, say they are well aware of and are monitoring the new file-swapping technologies. "I would say that they represent a continuing threat," said Tom Temple, director of worldwide Internet enforcement for the MPA. But just as with predecessors, the new technologies expose their Internet addresses of those who download files, allowing antipiracy enforcers to track them down, he said. "They still allow us to identify the IP address of a person."
See the MP3/P2P News Section for the latest on everything from MP3 players to Napster and the other file-swapping services.
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