P2P Filesharing

In the age of New Media, it is no secret that P2P file sharing is a huge deal. Often scrutinized and hated by most the film and music industry, it is the smoking gun many claims of piracy and copyright infringement. But what exactly is P2P file sharing? Well, File sharing itself is the practice of or ability to transmit files from one computer to another over a network or the Internet. Person to Person, or P2P file sharing is a lot more complex and rich.The definition of P2P File sharing  is the ability to allow users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content. The nodes (peers) of such networks are end-user computers and distribution servers (not required). This increases the speed in which you can download a file. The more Peers, or SEEDERS sharing a file, the faster the download speeds. The problem with P2P file sharing is the sharing of content that, legally you don’t have a “right” to share. Apparently, you own the rights to view a movie you purchase, but sharing the movie is illegal. I can understand why, after spending millions of dollars to produce a film, a company would be angry that a large portion of their viewers downloaded the film illegally online. But is that to say P2P is all bad? Not according to the creators of STEALTHISFILM. They distributed their film solely through P2P file sharing on sites such as Pirate bay. According to their article:

Content producers should take advantage of P2P, not fear it

producers should revisit their distribution models and find a way to include P2P in their plan.

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