Torrents and Copyright Problems…

The BitTorrent protocol that stays behind all this torrent stuff was created as a way for distribution of large files like Linux disk images which are files 700 Mb each. You realize that using a standard distribution from a single server means a very, very big monthly bandwidth bill. Torrents make things much better because once downloaded a couple of times, the big file starts to spread virally from peer to peers and at the end it might turn that some 100 or more people are doing the job for you. This exponentially reduces the burden of the computer that is serving the original file.

The problem is, that the BitTorrent protocol is very suitable for another content that is not so legal – huge video files, music, games. Lot’s of people use it to spread content they don’t have the rights for…

In the same time, the torrent trackers reject responsibility because they actually don’t host these files. The whole situation creates a bad name for one cool concept.

Probably, things are going to change in the future, but for now with the help of the torrents and the BitTorrent protocol, lots of files with copyrighted content make their way to the public…