P2P movie piracy goes mobile

Android App Equals Easy BitTorrent Downloading [Wired: Threat Level]

As if there were any doubt that peer-to-peer application users are primarily interested in pirating copyrighted content, Wired brings us a story about another resource P2P'ers have to pirate movies. P2P enthusiasts use BitTorrent clients like uTorrent to find and download illegal copies of movies from other P2P'ers around the world. Now those P2P'ers with an Android-based mobile phone have another tool in the piracy arsenal.

A program called BarTor, which runs on the Android OS, allows users to snap pictures of barcodes on DVD cases with their mobile phone. The program looks up the movie title associated with the barcode, and sends that information to a uTorrent P2P client running on the user's desktop computer with instructions to search out and download an illegal copy of that movie title. The implication behind the software is that a P2P'er can take a trip to a movie rental store or retail outlet that has DVDs to quickly queue up a long list of titles to download.  To me, this highlights the fact that P2P sharing copyright protected content is nothing more than stealing.  In this case you even walk into the store to perpetrate the crime.  You might as well have slipped the DVD into your coat pocket.

And frankly, I don't get it.  This is a neat technology.  I can think of a boatload of ideas of how to use it for, shall we say, more legitimate applications.  Scan the barcode and receive price comparisons?  Or product information?  Or even point and order a refill of one of your household items from your favorite vendor with one quick scan?  Why develop something with so many potential uses simply to increase the ease of which people can steal content? 

Of course, not only will this specific use of the new software make it more difficult for content producers to rightfully protect their work, it may also increase the disproportionate amount of network resources that P2P'ers consume. I've written here in the past about the amount of bandwidth that P2P applications consume and Insight's efforts to ensure that every user on our network has the opportunity to have an enjoyable broadband experience. As issues like the BarTor program multiply P2P bandwidth consumption, it increases the chances that, in the long run, we will move toward a usage-based billing system.  Bandwidth resources cost real money and ISP's will continue to provision to fill that demand.  But as usage patterns continue to increase dramatically, it becomes only fair that those who consume heavily pay more for it while others who use less, don't. For Insight customers, remember though -- you'll have plenty of notice if and when we decide to go there and we'll provide you with the tools to manage your consumption effectively.

Comments

[Kevin]

Thank for share this new.^

[DM]

Michael,

What about the legitimate uses of this application? Media distributors only recently began providing digital copies with commercial DVD movies and, under current US copyright legislation, the only legal way to obtain a digital copy of a movie that you own is to download it from the internet. P2P applications such as this simplify the process.

P2P applications can be legally useful! The technology should not be at fault here, rather responsibility should be applied to individuals and how they use the technology!

[Steve Huff]

"steal content"

I'm tired of hearing people using the tearm "steal" when it should be "violating copyrights". Both are illegal, but they are different, you may feel they equate to the same thing, but feeling that way has nothing to do with the law.

[sineswiper]

This is a sign of the content creators (Hollywood, RIAA/MPAA) being behind the times when it comes to providing access to movies and music to the public. Both are too expensive right now, and they have been really slow to put the media on the Internet. Thus, people find avenues to do this illegally.

Services like Hulu and VoD are doing better to provide legal access to content that people are willing to pay for. However, they fail in a lot more areas. Movie tickets are $10 each, with $5 drinks and $8 popcorns. CDs are $15 each. BluRays are $20-25 each, with $400-1000 players. Albums on iTunes are $10-15, which is the same as a CD, except it's lossy, has no artwork, and no lyrics. People tend to get the idea that the movie/music industry is trying to rip them off.

When this many people break the law, it's not a legal issue. It's a public protest.

[Kirk Sefchik]

I'd hate to burst your bubble, but all uTorrent and BitTorrent installations come with an application that allows any user to configure their client for remote web access. Anyone with a rudimentary browser on their phone can perform this same operation manually and, likely, with better accuracy. All someone did was automate the process. Besides, allowing some automated agent to go out onto the web and download for you is practically begging to get a virus. No sensible person would run this app.

But then again, the internet is full of 'sensible' people, eh?

[Charlie]

While its undeniable that most p2p services enable copyright infringers, notable exceptions such as Pando Networks offer 'closed' p2p services that have been embraced by content owners as a way to lower costs while boosting the user experience.

I hope we will shortly reach a juncture where it's easier for folk to differentiate between the 'bad' and 'good' technology providers.

[Sebhelyesfarku]

Sounds like a cool app! Thanks for the tip!