Bram Cohen didn't set out to upset Hollywood movie studios. But his innovative online file-sharing software, BitTorrent, has grown into a piracy problem the film industry is struggling to handle.
As its name suggests, the software lets computer users share large chunks of data. But unlike many other popular file-sharing programs, the more people swap data on BitTorrent, the quicker it flows -- and that includes such large files as feature films and computer games.
Because of its speed and effectiveness, BitTorrent has steadily gained popularity as a tool for copying huge files, such as television shows, movies and complete CDs. Meanwhile, users have migrated away from former file-sharing top dog Kazaa in the face of entertainment industry lawsuits and a flood of bogus files.
The BitTorrent program accounts for as much as half of all online file-sharing activity, says Andrew Parker, chief technology officer of Britain-based CacheLogic, which monitors such traffic.
"BitTorrent is more of a threat because it is probably the latest and best technological tool for transferring large files like movies," said John Malcolm, senior vice president of anti-piracy operations for the Motion Picture Assn. of America.
"It is unusual, perhaps unique, in that the moment you start downloading you are also uploading," he added. "It's what makes it so efficient."
Downloading or distributing copyrighted works without permission is just as illegal with BitTorrent as it is on eDonkey, Kazaa or any other file-sharing network, said Dean C. Garfield, a top anti-piracy lawyer at the MPAA.
And BitTorrent does not conceal the Internet identities of those who share files, so they're just as vulnerable to being sued by Hollywood studios or the major record companies as other online pirates are, said Randy Saaf, chief executive of MediaDefender Inc., a Los Angeles-based anti-piracy firm.
"Anyone who uses BitTorrent and is under the illusion that they are anonymous is sorely mistaken," Malcolm said. "There is no reason why those lawsuits wouldn't include BitTorrent" users.
Cohen, 29, of Bellevue, Wash., created BitTorrent in 2001 as a hobby after the dot-com crash left him unemployed. He said the aim was to enable computer users to easily distribute content online -- not specifically copyrighted content.
