Altnet, a partner of Kazaa peer-to-peer software vendor Sharman Networks, sent cease and desist letters to nine companies Tuesday, accusing them of improperly using Altnet's patented file-identifying technology to do such things as identify peer-to-peer copyright violators for the recording industry.
Altnet's TrueNames file-identifying technology makes it easy for file sharers to identify the files they want, but some market research and antipiracy companies have been using TrueNames to flood peer-to-peer networks with fake files or to track file downloads, said Derek Broes, Altnet's executive vice president of worldwide operations.
Some peer-to-peer software vendors have also been using TrueNames without Altnet's permission, but Altnet is negotiating TrueNames licensing with those vendors, he added. Peer-to-peer vendors would save money by licensing Altnet's patented technology instead of creating new ways to identify files, Broes said. "It would be more efficient for them to work with us and license the technology," he said.
Business Plan
Asked if he was trying to protect Kazaa users from lawsuits from the recording industry, Broes denied any such motivation. "Altnet's goal has always been to provide legitimate trading of files on peer-to-peer networks," he said. "That's the goal--the commercialization of peer-to-peer."
TrueNames is "the most efficient" way to identify files through distinguishing marks called hash marks in files, Broes said, but peer-to-peer vendors and other companies could use other methods. The companies receiving cease and desist letters should stop using TrueNames immediately, Broes said, or face legal action. "It's a patent we have to protect," Broes added.
Altnet sent cease and desist letters to nine companies on Tuesday, including BigChampagne, MediaDefender, and Overpeer. Representatives of MediaDefender and Overpeer, both antipiracy firms, did not respond to requests for comments, but BigChampagne CEO Eric Garland denied that his company was using TrueNames.
Denying the Claims
BigChampagne is a market research company that provides the recording industry with statistics on file swapping so that music companies can see what is popular, Garland said. His company has not been hired by anyone to identify peer-to-peer users so that the recording industry can sue them, he said.
"Each and every claim [by Altnet] is absolutely false with respect to BigChampagne," Garland added. "I think this represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what our company does."
Altnet's TrueNames technology identifies data based on the file's content, rather than by its file name, point of origin, location, address, or other discrete piece of information that the user can easily change, according to the company, a subsidiary of Brilliant Digital Entertainment. To identify unique files on a peer-to-peer network, TrueNames assigns a unique identifier, or hash, to data, using an algorithm in a process protected by two U.S. patents. This technique enables users of the technology to track, retrieve, monitor, and charge for the distribution of content, according to the company.
