COPYCENSE

“In a sign that Hollywood is trying to adapt to a technology it long feared, Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. announced that it will sell and rent movies and television shows online using BitTorrent Inc.’s peer-to-peer technology.

“Peer-to-peer technology has long been blamed for enabling the theft of music and movies online. But with Internet and DVD piracy on the rise, Hollywood studios are looking for ways to harness peer-to-peer and other Internet-based technologies. Given that peer-to-peer technology provides a cheap and efficient way to move large files around the Internet, it is looking increasingly attractive to some studio executives, provided the files move with robust copy protection.

“Expected to launch this summer, Warner’s service will sell and rent movies and television shows the same day they are released on DVD. Releases will include newer titles such as ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ as well as library titles including The Matrix.’ TV shows will include ‘Babylon 5’ and ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’ The content will have heavy-duty security features so they can’t be pirated.”

Sarah McBride. Online Sharing Evolves for Warner Bros. The Wall Street Journal. May 9, 2006

See also:

Between the Lines. Just What We Needed: Another Proprietary Form of CRAP (DRM). May 9, 2006.

Burt Helm. BitTorrent Goes Hollywood. BusinessWeek Online. May 9, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.