Tech Report

So far I have read over the papers listed at http://www.cs.duke.edu/courses/spring07/cps082s/assign/tech_links.html . Based on the data shown there, which I hope to verify with empirical data of my own, the BitTorrent protocol seems to have some promising properties as a potential media distribution system. Bram Cohen's paper from bittorrent.com lists bandwidth requirements of around 1/1000 the total amount transferred. However, the nature of the BitTorrent protocol requires that individual downloaders receive the exact same stream of bits. This poses a problem for many DRM schemes since any individualized protection such as per-user encryption must be applied after downloading, making it easy for moderately skilled hackers to circumvent the DRM simply by copying the data before the encryption is applied. Another issue is that, while BitTorrent can greatly improve performance over centralized downloads for extremely popular content, rarely downloaded files achieve much lower rates than traditional methods, since individual users are unlikely to have comparable bandwidth and uptime to commercial webservers. Two potential methods to ameliorate this problem are to either require users to download files that they do not purchase (which would require some sort of protection to keep them from accessing the data) or having the service provider (such as Apple) have servers dedicated to 'downloading' all the files to ensure availability.

-David, Technical Liaison

Legal Standings

So far it seems there are a range of different issues that must be considered in this case:
Due to the nature of Bittorrent, how will regulations be placed on legally purchased iTunes HD movies to other users over the network? Is it the job of Apple or of BitTorrent to ensure DRM standards? How will HD movies that are limited in availability to other computer applications be treated? How will regulations be placed on international sharing of HD movies that are not yet available in other countries? How will foreign violators of the regulations imparted by either iTunes or BitTorrent be punished according to the terms of the DMCA?

Here is an overview of some relevant court cases I've looked over so far:

Suprnova.org, closed in December 2004 because the Suprnova computer servers were confiscated by Slovenian authorities. After threats tothe webmaster of this site and its counterpart, lokitorrent, were ordered by the court to pay a fine and supply the MPAA with the IP addresses of visitors.

EliteTorrents.org was shut down by the US FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At first it was thought that a malicious hacker had gained control of the website, but it was soon discovered that the website had been taken over by the US government. Ten search warrants relating to members of the website were executed.

In 2005, a 38-year-old Hong Kong BitTorrent user allegedly distributed the three movies in violation of copyright, subsequently uploading the torrent file to a newsgroup. He was convicted of breaching the copyright ordinance, Chapter 528 of Hong Kong law. He was sentenced to jail for three months but was immediately granted bail pending an appeal to the High Court, which was dismissed.

In November, 2005, the movie industry and BitTorrent Inc., whose CEO is the creator of BitTorrent, signed a deal they hoped would reduce the number of unlicensed copies available through bittorrent.com's search engine, run by BitTorrent, Inc. It meant BitTorrent.com had to remove any links to unlicensed copies of films made by seven Hollywood movie studios. As it covered only the BitTorrent.com website, it is unclear what overall effect this has had on copyright infringement.

The Pirate Bay is another popular BitTorrent website. The site also contains torrents which point to copies of copyright-protected material. In May, 2006 however, The Pirate Bay's servers, which are based in Sweden, were raided by Swedish police; the site owners might be facing charges for copyright infringement or facilitating it according to the accusations on the search warrant. No charges have been made so far. However, after securing new servers in The Netherlands and using a recent backup, The Pirate Bay was back online in less than 72 hours. Recently, The Pirate Bay has returned to Sweden. The return has been facilitated by the public and media backlash against the Swedish Government's actions. The Pirate Bay is now, supposedly, going to counter-sue the Swedish government for millions of Swedish kronor lost from having their website shut down.

HBO, in an effort to combat the distribution of its programming on BitTorrent networks, has been sending out cease and desist letters to the ISPs of BitTorrent users. Many users have reported receiving letters from their ISP's that threatened to cut off their internet service if the alleged infringement continues. HBO, unlike the RIAA, has so far declined to sue anyone for sharing the files

(Wikipedia)
-Erin

Guru/Ethicist

As the guru/ethicist of the group, I have researched different types of ethical mores, and have sought to compare the use of bittorrents to those different types of ethics. For instance, I have looked into a Utilitarian and Deontological viewpoint of the problem. In this instance I have compared the expected utility from using a bittorrent to being caught using a bittorrent. In this way could it be considered moral for individual users to use a bittorrent? How much disutility, for instance, do bittorrents cause copyright owners, and could they be compensated by the consumers using their products illegally?

In addition, I have looked into a Deontological viewpoint of the bittorrent problem. In doing this I examined the intentions of the users of bittorrents, and their sense of duty to following the laws.

First Post

Hey Professors,
Hope this is alright!
James