Software:Popcorn Time

From HandWiki
Short description: BitTorrent client and media player software
Popcorn Time
Original author(s)Federico Abad, Matías Fork, et al.
Repositorygithub.com/popcorn-official
Written inHTML, JavaScript, NodeJS, CSS
Operating systemLinux, macOS, Windows, Android
PlatformNode.js
Available in44 languages[1]
TypeBitTorrent client / Peer-to-peer
LicenseGPL v3
Part of a series on
File sharing
Technologies
Video sharing sites
BitTorrent sites
Academic/scholarly
File sharing networks
P2P clients
Streaming programs
Anonymous file sharing
Development and societal aspects
By country or region
Comparisons

Popcorn Time is a multi-platform, free software BitTorrent client that includes an integrated media player. The application provides a piracy-based alternative to subscription-based video streaming services such as Netflix. Popcorn Time uses sequential downloading to stream video listed by several torrent websites, and third-party trackers can also be added manually. The legality of the software depends on the jurisdiction.

Following its creation, Popcorn Time quickly received positive media attention, with some comparing the app to Netflix for its ease of use.[2] After this increase in popularity, the program was abruptly taken down by its original developers on March 14, 2014, due to pressure from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[3] Since then, the program has been forked several times with several other development teams such as Time4Popcorn and the Butter Project to maintain the program and produce new features. Time4Popcorn reportedly gained millions of users within four months of launching in 2014 and became the first fork to bring Popcorn Time to Android devices.[4] In September 2014, Time4Popcorn became available on jailbroken Apple devices, and eventually non-jailbroken iOS devices via a Windows installation tool.[5] The iOS version of Popcorn Time is no longer maintained.[6]

On January 5, 2022, a popular copy of Popcorn Time was shut down due to "a lack of use".[7]

Functionality

Big Buck Bunny on Popcorn Time 0.3.8

The Popcorn Time interface presents thumbnails and film titles in a manner similar to Netflix. This list of media can be searched and browsed by genres or categories. When a user clicks on one of the titles, the film is downloaded via the BitTorrent protocol.[8] As with other BitTorrent clients, as soon as Popcorn Time starts to download a film, it also starts to share the downloaded content with other users (in technical terms, it seeds the torrent to others in the BitTorrent swarm).[9][10] It continues to make the downloaded content available to others until the movie is deleted, which is normally done automatically once the application is closed.

History

Popcorn Time was developed "in a couple of weeks" by a group from Buenos Aires, Argentina , who elected "Pochoclín" (derived from pochoclo, which means popcorn in Buenos Aires parlance) as their mascot. They believed that piracy was a "service problem" created by "an industry that portrays innovation as a threat to their antique recipe to collect value", and also argued that streaming providers were being given too many restrictions and forced to provide inconsistent service between countries, noting that streaming providers in their native Argentina "seem to believe that There's Something About Mary [1998] is a recent movie. That movie would be old enough to vote here."[11]

Made available for Linux, macOS, Windows and Android, Popcorn Time's source code was downloadable from their website; the project was intended to be free software. Contributors localized the program into 44 languages.[1][11][12]

Reception

Popcorn Time became the subject of mainstream media attention for its ease of use, with PC Magazine and CBC News likening Popcorn Time to Netflix, and noting its obvious advantages over Netflix such as the size of its library, and the recent selections available.[13][8] Caitlin Dewey of The Washington Post said Popcorn Time may have been an attempt to make the normally "sketchy" ecosystem of torrents more accessible by giving it a clean modern look and an easy-to-use interface.[14]

Legality

Main article: Legal issues with BitTorrent

The legality of the various Popcorn Time clients matched that of all other BitTorrent clients plus the additional issues that apply to sites like The Pirate Bay and YTS itself, due to the explicit linking to movie content; its website claimed that the software was possibly illegal depending on local laws.[11][15]

In the UK a court order was given in April 2015 to ISPs to block URLs that provided either the Popcorn Time application software (PTAS) or "sources of update information" (SUI), i.e. pointers to torrent-indexing sites. The court found that, unlike previous cases concerning indexing sites directly, neither websites providing the PTAS nor the SUI could be construed to be "communicating a work to the public", since neither contained any specific information about any specific work. It considered it entirely probable that both the providers of the PTAS and the SUI could be held to be "authorising acts of infringement" by users, but this was not the case that the claimants had raised at the hearing. Instead, they had claimed that the providers had been authorising acts of infringement by content-hosting websites, but then that claim had not been made out.

The judge, however, found that the Popcorn Time suppliers did "plainly know and intend" for the application to be "the key means which procures and induces the user to access the host website and therefore causes the infringing communications to occur"; and on this basis had "a common design with the operators of the host websites" and therefore shared a joint liability for the copyright infringements (joint tortfeasance). It was therefore appropriate to order the ISPs to block the websites as provided for by section 97A of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.[16][17]

On May 20, 2015, the government of Israel blocked all access to the official downloads of Popcorn Time, following a lawsuit from its biggest cable and satellite providers for copyright infringement. Although the download sites were blocked, internet users still possessing a copy of the installation file and/or the program were not affected, and there were other sharing sites that distributed installation files. Less than a month later, the government reversed the ban.

On August 17, 2015, the Danish website popcorntime.dk was shut down by Denmark police and two arrests were made.[18] The case has caused controversy given that the website is not affiliated with the Popcorn Time developer teams but only distributed information about the service.

As with other BitTorrent clients, the IP addresses of users of the original app or its forks can easily be determined by third parties. In early 2015, many German Popcorn Time users received demands for damages of €815. The high amount was justified by the fact that the application not only downloads but also distributes movies,[19] a fact that not all users were aware of.

Cobbler Nevada, LLC v. Anonymous Users of Popcorn Time: Does 1-11, Case No. 3:15-cv-1550

In 2015, Cobbler Nevada alleged that Popcorn Time users illegally downloaded copies of the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler.[20] Popcorn Time attempted to differentiate itself from "all technological applications" by claiming that Popcorn Time had no legitimate purposes, however, the evidence in favor of this assertion was the Wikipedia article "Popcorn Time."[21]

Popcorn-Time.no

On March 8, 2016, Norway 's police unit for economic crimes, Økokrim, seized Popcorn-Time.no domain name.[22][23] The original site did not host the Popcorn Time application but instead had news articles and external links to other applications. The seizure is being contested by the Norwegian member organizations NUUG and EFN.[24][25]

Discontinuation

On March 14, 2014, Popcorn Time's original website and GitHub repository were removed after allegations of copyright infringement. It was later revealed by the Sony leaks that the MPAA did indeed prevent the original developers of Popcorn Time from continuing to work on the program.[3] Despite the copyright complaints that the software received, Popcorn Time's developers simply wanted to move on. They said, "our experiment has put us at the doors of endless debates about copyright infringement and copyright, legal threats and the shady machinery that makes us feel in danger for doing what we love. And that's not a battle we want a place in".[10][12][26]

The developers claimed that the majority of their users were those outside of the United States, and that it was "installed on every single country on Earth. Even the two that don't have internet access," by users who would "risk fines, lawsuits and whatever consequences that may come just to be able to watch a recent movie in slippers. Just to get the kind of experience they deserve". They also praised media outlets for not antagonizing them in their coverage of Popcorn Time, and agreeing with their views that the movie industry was anti-consumer and too restrictive in regard to innovation.[11]

Successor

After its discontinuation, the Popcorn Time application was forked by various different groups to continue development of the project.[26] On August 8, 2015, the website of the original Popcorn Time application was redirected to the popcorntime.io website.[27] A few days later, members of the original Popcorn Time project announced that they would endorse the popcorntime.io project as the successor to the original discontinued Popcorn Time.[28]

Forks

Popcorn Time lineage
Popcorn Time
getpopcorntime.me
(dead)
Time4Popcorn
(closed source)
time4popcorn.eu
popcorn-time.se
popcorn-time.to
popcorn-time.tw		Popcorn Time
(official, dead)
popcorntime.io
Popcorn Time CE
(clone community edition)
popcorn-time.is
popcorntime.ag		Popcorn Time CE
(original community edition, dead)
popcorntime.ml
popcorntime.tk
popcorntimece.ch		Popcorn Time
popcorntime.sh
popcorntime.app
Argentinian programmer Niv Sardi, one of the developers of the Popcorntime.io fork[29]

After the original developers discontinued the program, other teams forked the original Popcorn Time source code and continued development independently. These groups continued using the name "Popcorn Time", but other than the Popcorn Time project, these forks are not associated with the developers of the original application. The developers of the original Popcorn Time had members join the Popcorn Time project, and endorsed this as the successor to the discontinued old Popcorn Time.[28] Popcorntime.app, formerly popcorntime.sh, is sponsored by private VPN company VPN.ht.[30][31]

Time4Popcorn (Time4Popcorn.eu, Popcorn-Time.to Popcorn-Time.se)

This Popcorn Time fork was originally launched with the web domain time4popcorn.eu. The domain time4popcorn.eu was suspended by Eurid, as a result of a legal investigation against time4popcorn.eu. The programs that rely on the time4popcorn.eu domain temporarily stopped functioning, but the program and website were updated to a new domain popcorn-time.se.[32][33] As the original time4Popcorn.eu domain was forcibly removed, the team moved to the popcorn-time.se website.[34] On May 13, 2014, the fork released a mobile version for Android phones and tablets.[35] In addition, popcorn-time.se added built in VPN on June 9, 2014, provided by Kebrum.[36] The popcorn-time.se developers later added Chromecast support for desktop and Android.[37][38] On July 30, 2014, popcorn-time.se developers added support for the Apple TV to their desktop app; on September 30, 2014, an app for jailbroken iOS devices was released.[39][40][41] An anonymous development team created a tool that allows iOS users to download the fork via Windows, thus allowing non-jailbroken devices to install Popcorn Time.[5]

Popcorn Time Community Edition

Following the shutdown of popcorntime.io, users of Popcorn Time created a series of fixes that modified the original software and got it working again.[42] The fixes were added to the Popcorn Time installers and named Popcorn Time Community Edition, giving credit to the community of users that resurrected the software.[43]

Popcorntime.sh (formerly popcorntime.io)

Popcorntime.sh is a free software fork of the original Popcorn Time program. In October 2015, PopcornTime.io was shut down, along with the YTS website.[44]

On November 3, 2015, the popcorntime.io domain was obtained by the MPAA after winning court orders in Canada and New Zealand.[45] This came about after winning an injunction on October 16, 2015, to shut the website down, although the project reappeared on a new website (popcorntime.sh).[46][47][48][49]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Transifex". transifex.com. https://www.transifex.com/popcorn-time/popcorn-time-app/. 
  2. ↑ "Music group threatens popcorn times blog platform". Torrent Freak. https://torrentfreak.com/music-group-threatens-popcorn-times-blog-platform-150129/. "when the 'Netflix for Pirates' celebrates" 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Hollywood Tries to Crush Popcorn Time, Again - TorrentFreak". December 19, 2014. https://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-tries-crush-popcorn-time-141219/. 
  4. ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob; Vincent, James (October 23, 2015). "A brief history of Popcorn Time, the piracy service everyone's watching". https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/23/9600576/popcorn-time-history-timeline. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "How Popcorn Time's Piracy App Is Sneaking Onto iPhones" (in en-us). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/2015/04/popcorn-times-piracy-app-sneaking-onto-iphones/. Retrieved 2020-12-18. 
  6. ↑ popcorn-official/PopcornTimeTV, Popcorn Software, 2020-11-26, https://github.com/popcorn-official/PopcornTimeTV, retrieved 2021-01-27 
  7. ↑ Van der Sar, Ernesto (2022-01-05). ""Popcorn Time" Shuts Down Due to a Lack of Use". https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-shuts-down-due-to-a-lack-of-use-220105/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "'Popcorn Time' Is Like Netflix for Pirated Movies". PC Magazine. https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454833,00.asp. 
  9. ↑ "Netflix-like torrenting app Popcorn Time disappears". Ars Technica. 14 March 2014. https://arstechnica.com/business/2014/03/netflix-like-torrenting-app-popcorn-time-disappears/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Popcorn Time reinvents the seedy process of torrenting". Ars Technica. 11 March 2014. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/popcorn-time-reinvents-the-seedy-process-of-torrenting/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Goodbye Popcorn Time". Popcorn Time developers. https://medium.com/p/93f890b8c9f4. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Popcorn Time Is Over: Potent Piracy App Quickly Calls It Quits". Time. http://time.com/25604/popcorn-time-is-over-streaming-movie-app-quickly-calls-it-quits/. Retrieved March 16, 2014. 
  13. ↑ Misener, Dan. "Popcorn Time is like 'Netflix for pirates'". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/popcorn-time-is-like-netflix-for-pirates-dan-misener-1.2567929. 
  14. ↑ "How to easily watch any movie from your computer for free". Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/03/11/how-to-easily-watch-any-movie-from-your-computer-for-free/?tid=hpModule_1728cf4a-8a79-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e&hpid=z13. 
  15. ↑ David, Fishcher (4 January 2016). "Everything you need to know about popcorn time" (in nl-NL). Buttertime.nl. Popcorn Time News. https://buttertime.nl/popcorn-time/. 
  16. ↑ Eleonora Rosati, Popcorn Time: a blocking order like any other? Birss J's decision in the post-Svensson debate, IPKat blog, April 29, 2015
  17. ↑ Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation & Ors v Sky UK Ltd & Ors [2015] EWHC 1082 (Ch)
  18. ↑ "Police Arrest Men For Spreading Popcorn Time Information - TorrentFreak". 19 August 2015. https://torrentfreak.com/police-arrest-men-for-spreading-popcorn-time-information-150819/. 
  19. ↑ "Anwälte verzeichnen viele Abmahnungen zu Popcorn Time" (in de). golem.de. January 19, 2015. http://www.golem.de/news/streaming-anwaelte-verzeichnen-viele-abmahnung-zu-popcorn-time-1501-111793.html. 
  20. ↑ NBC15.com. "Lawsuit claims locals illegally downloaded Adam Sandler movie". http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Lawsuit-claims-Madison-area-residents-illegally-downloaded-Adam-Sandler-movie-321818162.html. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  21. ↑ "Complaint". https://torrentfreak.com/images/popcorn-complaint.pdf. 
  22. ↑ Norwegian Police Seize Popcorn-Time “Information” Site TorrentFreak Retrieved March 8, 2016
  23. ↑ Hafsahl, Gunhild (March 8, 2016). "Beslag i domenet popcorn-time.no". http://www.okokrim.no/beslag-i-domenet-popcorn-timeno. 
  24. ↑ Enonic. "Press Release: Popcorn-time.no – NUUG and EFN appeal decision for judicial review of the case and get the legal owner IMCASREG8 onboard." (in no). https://efn.no/en/home/press-release-popcorn-time.no-nuug-and-efn-appeal-decision-for-judicial-review-of-the-case-and-get-the-legal-owner-imcasreg8-onboard. 
  25. ↑ "Pressemelding: NUUG og EFN begjærer rettslig prøving for DNS-domenebeslag av popcorn-time.no - Nyheter fra NUUG". https://www.nuug.no/news/Pressemelding__NUUG_og_EFN_begj_rer_rettslig_pr_ving_for_DNS_domenebeslag_av_popcorn_time_no.shtml. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Torrent Site Popcorn Time, Shut Down Yesterday, Is Alive Again". Gizmodo. 15 March 2014. https://gizmodo.com/torrent-site-popcorn-time-shut-down-yesterday-is-aliv-1544484728. 
  27. ↑ "Popcorn Time - Goodbye!". 2015-08-03. http://getpopcornti.me/. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Popcorn Time's origins in terms with today". Popcorn Time Blog. https://blog.popcorntime.io/popcorn-times-origins-in-terms-with-today/. 
  29. ↑ "Popcorn Time with Niv Sardi". November 23, 2015. http://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2015/11/23/popcorn-time-with-niv-sardi/. 
  30. ↑ Dellinger, AJ (March 18, 2020). "Popcorn Time, the 'Netflix for piracy,' is back just in time". https://www.mic.com/p/popcorn-time-the-netflix-for-piracy-is-back-just-in-time-22632795. 
  31. ↑ "Popcorntime.App - Info". March 26, 2020. https://hypestat.com/info/popcorntime.app. 
  32. ↑ "Home". October 11, 2014. http://time4popcorn.com. 
  33. ↑ "PopcornTime stops working after domain suspension". TF Publishing. October 9, 2014. https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-domain-name-suspension-breaks-app-141009/. 
  34. ↑ "Popcorn Time Finds A New Home After The EURid Pulled Its Domain". AOL Inc. 14 October 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/10/13/popcorn-time-finds-a-new-home-after-the-eurid-pulled-its-domain/?ncid=tcdaily. 
  35. ↑ Matt Burns (May 13, 2014). "Popcorn Time : Popcorn Time Is Now On Android". AOL Inc.. https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/13/popcorn-time-is-now-on-android/. 
  36. ↑ Steven Tweedie (June 9, 2014). "The 'Netflix For Pirated Movies' Has Figured Out A Way To Keep You Anonymous". Business Insider Inc.. http://www.businessinsider.com/popcorn-time-anonymous-2014-6. 
  37. ↑ Mario Aguilar (July 7, 2014). "Popcorn Time's "Netflix for Torrents" Is Coming to Chromecast". gizmodo.com. https://gizmodo.com/popcorn-times-netflix-for-torrents-is-coming-to-chrom-1601100023. 
  38. ↑ Paul Sawers (July 14, 2014). "Hollywood's worst nightmare just got worse, as Popcorn Time's Android app gets Chromecast support". The Next Web Inc.. https://thenextweb.com/media/2014/07/14/hollywoods-worst-nightmare-just-got-worse-popcorn-times-android-app-gets-chromecast-support/. 
  39. ↑ Popcorn Time Adds Apple TV Support, iOS App Coming Soon TorrentFreak July 30, 2014
  40. ↑ The 'Netflix For Pirated Movies' Will Soon Work With Your Apple TV by Steven Tweedie Business Insider July 30, 2014, 9:41 am
  41. ↑ "Popcorn Time Finally Comes To iOS". AOL Inc. September 30, 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/30/popcorn-time-finally-comes-to-ios/. 
  42. ↑ "Popcorn Time's Alive, Full Comeback In the Works - TorrentFreak" (in en-US). https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-times-alive-full-comeback-in-the-works-151117/. 
  43. ↑ "POPCORN TIME DEVELOPERS POKE MPAA WITH A NEW FORK". https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-developers-poke-mpaa-with-a-new-fork-151202/. 
  44. ↑ "Popcorn Time Chaos Leads to Shutdown - TorrentFreak". https://torrentfreak.com/popcorn-time-chaos-triggers-more-downtime-151023/. 
  45. ↑ "MPAA shuts down major torrent sites, including Popcorn Time". 4 November 2015. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/11/mpaa-shuts-down-major-torrent-sites-including-popcorn-time/. 
  46. ↑ "MPAA-Hunted Popcorn Time Makes Surprise 'Comeback'". TorrentFreak. February 17, 2016. https://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-hunted-popcorn-time-makes-surprise-comeback-160217/. 
  47. ↑ "Popcorn Time Status". https://popcorntime.statuspage.io/. 
  48. ↑ Robertson, Adi (February 26, 2016). "Popcorn Time's best-known app comes back to life". https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/26/11119290/popcorn-time-io-movie-streaming-piracy-back-online. 
  49. ↑ "Motion Picture Association of America". November 3, 2015. http://www.mpaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Major-Piracy-Sites-Shut-Down1.pdf. 
Short description: Practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information
Part of a series on
File sharing
Technologies
Video sharing sites
BitTorrent sites
Academic/scholarly
File sharing networks
P2P clients
Streaming programs
Anonymous file sharing
Development and societal aspects
By country or region
Comparisons

File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include removable media, centralized servers on computer networks, Internet-based hyperlinked documents, and the use of distributed peer-to-peer networking.

File sharing technologies, such as BitTorrent, are integral to modern media piracy, as well as the sharing of scientific data and other free content.

History

For a chronological guide to this subject, see Timeline of Popcorn Time.

Files were first exchanged on removable media. Computers were able to access remote files using filesystem mounting, bulletin board systems (1978), Usenet (1979), and FTP servers (1970's). Internet Relay Chat (1988) and Hotline (1997) enabled users to communicate remotely through chat and to exchange files. The mp3 encoding, which was standardized in 1991 and substantially reduced the size of audio files, grew to widespread use in the late 1990s. In 1998, MP3.com and Audiogalaxy were established, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was unanimously passed, and the first mp3 player devices were launched.[1]

In June 1999, Napster was released as an unstructured centralized peer-to-peer system,[2] requiring a central server for indexing and peer discovery. It is generally credited as being the first peer-to-peer file sharing system. In December 1999, Napster was sued by several recording companies and lost in A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc..[3] In the case of Napster, it has been ruled that an online service provider could not use the "transitory network transmission" safe harbor in the DMCA if they had control of the network with a server.[4]

Gnutella, eDonkey2000, and Freenet were released in 2000, as MP3.com and Napster were facing litigation. Gnutella, released in March, was the first decentralized file-sharing network. In the Gnutella network, all connecting software was considered equal, and therefore the network had no central point of failure. In July, Freenet was released and became the first anonymity network. In September the eDonkey2000 client and server software was released.[citation needed]

In March 2001, Kazaa was released. Its FastTrack network was distributed, though, unlike Gnutella, it assigned more traffic to 'supernodes' to increase routing efficiency. The network was proprietary and encrypted, and the Kazaa team made substantial efforts to keep other clients such as Morpheus off of the FastTrack network.[citation needed] In October 2001, the MPAA and the RIAA filed a lawsuit against the developers of Kazaa, Morpheus and Grokster[5][6] that would lead to the US Supreme Court's MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. decision in 2005.

Shortly after its loss in court, Napster was shut down to comply with a court order. This drove users to other P2P applications and file sharing continued its growth.[7] The Audiogalaxy Satellite client grew in popularity, and the LimeWire client and BitTorrent protocol were released. Until its decline in 2004, Kazaa was the most popular file-sharing program despite bundled malware and legal battles in the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States. In 2002, a Tokyo district court ruling shut down File Rogue, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit that effectively shut down Audiogalaxy.

Demonstrators protesting The Pirate Bay raid in 2006

From 2002 through 2003, a number of BitTorrent services were established, including Suprnova.org, isoHunt, TorrentSpy, and The Pirate Bay. In September 2003, the RIAA began filing lawsuits against users of P2P file sharing networks such as Kazaa.[8] As a result of such lawsuits, many universities added file sharing regulations in their school administrative codes (though some students managed to circumvent them during after school hours). Also in 2003, the MPAA started to take action against BitTorrent sites, leading to the shutdown of Torrentse and Sharelive in July 2003.[9] With the shutdown of eDonkey in 2005, eMule became the dominant client of the eDonkey network. In 2006, police raids took down the Razorback2 eDonkey server and temporarily took down The Pirate Bay.[10]

"The File Sharing Act was launched by Chairman Towns in 2009, this act prohibited the use of applications that allowed individuals to share federal information amongst one another. On the other hand, only specific file sharing applications were made available to federal computers" (the United States.Congress.House). In 2009, the Pirate Bay trial ended in a guilty verdict for the primary founders of the tracker. The decision was appealed, leading to a second guilty verdict in November 2010. In October 2010, Limewire was forced to shut down following a court order in Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC but the Gnutella network remains active through open source clients like FrostWire and gtk-gnutella. Furthermore, multi-protocol file-sharing software such as MLDonkey and Shareaza adapted to support all the major file-sharing protocols, so users no longer had to install and configure multiple file-sharing programs.[citation needed]

On January 19, 2012, the United States Department of Justice shut down the popular domain of Megaupload (established 2005). The file sharing site has claimed to have over 50,000,000 people a day.[11] Kim Dotcom (formerly Kim Schmitz) was arrested with three associates in New Zealand on January 20, 2012 and is awaiting extradition.[12][13] The case involving the downfall of the world's largest and most popular file sharing site was not well received, with hacker group Anonymous bringing down several sites associated with the take-down.[11] In the following days, other file sharing sites began to cease services; FileSonic blocked public downloads on January 22,[14] with Fileserve following suit on January 23.[15]

In 2021 a European Citizens' Initiative "Freedom to Share" started collecting signatures in order to get the European Commission to discuss (and eventually make rules) on this subject, which is controversial.[16]

Techniques used for video sharing

From the early 2000s until the mid 2010s, online video streaming was usually based on the Adobe Flash Player. After more and more vulnerabilities in Adobe's flash became known, YouTube switched to HTML5 based video playback in January 2015.[17]

Types

Peer-to-peer file sharing

Peer-to-peer file sharing is based on the peer-to-peer (P2P) application architecture. Shared files on the computers of other users are indexed on directory servers. P2P technology was used by popular services like Napster and LimeWire. The most popular protocol for P2P sharing is BitTorrent.

File sync and sharing services

Screenshot of an open-source file-sharing software Shareaza

Cloud-based file syncing and sharing services implement automated file transfers by updating files from a dedicated sharing directory on each user's networked devices. Files placed in this folder also are typically accessible through a website and mobile app and can be easily shared with other users for viewing or collaboration. Such services have become popular via consumer-oriented file hosting services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. With the rising need of sharing big files online easily, new open access sharing platforms have appeared, adding even more services to their core business (cloud storage, multi-device synchronization, online collaboration), such as ShareFile, Tresorit, WeTransfer, or Hightail.

rsync is a more traditional program released in 1996 which synchronizes files on a direct machine-to-machine basis.

Data synchronization in general can use other approaches to share files, such as distributed file systems, version control, or mirrors.

Academic file sharing

In addition to file sharing for the purposes of entertainment, academic file sharing has become a topic of increasing concern,[18][19][20] as it is deemed to be a violation of academic integrity at many schools.[18][19][21] Academic file sharing by companies such as Chegg and Course Hero has become a point of particular controversy in recent years.[22] This has led some institutions to provide explicit guidance to students and faculty regarding academic integrity expectations relating to academic file sharing.[23][24]

Public opinion of file sharing

In 2004, there were an estimated 70 million people participating in online file sharing.[25] According to a CBS News poll in 2009, 58% of United States who follow the file-sharing issue, considered it acceptable "if a person owns the music CD and shares it with a limited number of friends and acquaintances"; with 18- to 29-year-olds, this percentage reached as much as 70%.[26]

In his survey of file-sharing culture, Caraway (2012) noted that 74.4% of participants believed musicians should accept file sharing as a means for promotion and distribution.[27] This file-sharing culture was termed as cyber socialism, whose legalisation was not the expected cyber-utopia.[clarification needed].[28][29]

Economic impact

According to David Glenn, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, "A majority of economic studies have concluded that file-sharing hurts sales".[30] A literature review by Professor Peter Tschmuck found 22 independent studies on the effects of music file sharing. "Of these 22 studies, 14 – roughly two-thirds – conclude that unauthorized downloads have a 'negative or even highly negative impact' on recorded music sales. Three of the studies found no significant impact while the remaining five found a positive impact."[31][32]

A study by economists Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf in 2004 concluded that music file sharing's effect on sales was "statistically indistinguishable from zero".[33][34] This research was disputed by other economists, most notably Stan Liebowitz, who said Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf had made multiple assumptions about the music industry "that are just not correct."[33][35] In June 2010, Billboard reported that Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf had "changed their minds", now finding "no more than 20% of the recent decline in sales is due to sharing".[36] However, citing Nielsen SoundScan as their source, the co-authors maintained that illegal downloading had not deterred people from being original. "In many creative industries, monetary incentives play a reduced role in motivating authors to remain creative. Data on the supply of new works are consistent with the argument that file-sharing did not discourage authors and publishers. Since the advent of file sharing, the production of music, books, and movies has increased sharply."[37] Glenn Peoples of Billboard disputed the underlying data, saying "SoundScan's number for new releases in any given year represents new commercial titles, not necessarily new creative works."[38] The RIAA likewise responded that "new releases" and "new creative works" are two separate things. "[T]his figure includes re-releases, new compilations of existing songs, and new digital-only versions of catalog albums. SoundScan has also steadily increased the number of retailers (especially non-traditional retailers) in their sample over the years, better capturing the number of new releases brought to market. What Oberholzer and Strumpf found was better ability to track new album releases, not greater incentive to create them."[39]

A 2006 study prepared by Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz, published by Industry Canada, was "unable to discover any direct relationship between P2P file-sharing and CD purchases in Canada".[40] The results of this survey were similarly criticized by academics and a subsequent revaluation of the same data by George R. Barker of the Australian National University reached the opposite conclusion.[41] "In total, 75% of P2P downloaders responded that if P2P were not available they would have purchased either through paid sites only (9%), CDs only (17%) or through CDs and pay sites (49%). Only 25% of people say they would not have bought the music if it were not available on P2P for free." Barker thus concludes; "This clearly suggests P2P network availability is reducing music demand of 75% of music downloaders which is quite contrary to Andersen and Frenz's much published claim."[42]

According to the 2017 paper "Estimating displacement rates of copyrighted content in the EU" by the European Commission, illegal usage increases game sales, stating "The overall conclusion is that for games, illegal online transactions induce more legal transactions."[43]

Market dominance

A paper in the journal Management Science found that file-sharing decreased the chance of survival for low ranked albums on music charts and increased exposure to albums that were ranked high on the music charts, allowing popular and well-known artists to remain on the music charts more often. This hurt new and less-known artists while promoting the work of already popular artists and celebrities.[44]

A more recent study that examined pre-release file-sharing of music albums, using BitTorrent software, also discovered positive impacts for "established and popular artists but not newer and smaller artists." According to Robert G. Hammond of North Carolina State University, an album that leaked one month early would see a modest increase in sales. "This increase in sales is small relative to other factors that have been found to affect album sales."

"File-sharing proponents commonly argue that file-sharing democratizes music consumption by 'levelling the playing field' for new/small artists relative to established/popular artists, by allowing artists to have their work heard by a wider audience, lessening the advantage held by established/popular artists in terms of promotional and other support. My results suggest that the opposite is happening, which is consistent with evidence on file-sharing behaviour."[45]

Billboard cautioned that this research looked only at the pre-release period and not continuous file sharing following a release date. "The problem in believing piracy helps sales is deciding where to draw the line between legal and illegal ... Implicit in the study is the fact that both buyers and sellers are required in order for pre-release file sharing to have a positive impact on album sales. Without iTunes, Amazon, and Best Buy, file-sharers would be just file sharers rather than purchasers. If you carry out the 'file-sharing should be legal' argument to its logical conclusion, today's retailers will be tomorrow's file-sharing services that integrate with their respective cloud storage services."[46]

Availability

Many argue that file-sharing has forced the owners of entertainment content to make it more widely available legally through fees or advertising on-demand on the internet. In a 2011 report by Sandvine showed that Netflix traffic had come to surpass that of BitTorrent.[47]

Main article: Legal aspects of file sharing

File sharing raises copyright issues and has led to many lawsuits. In the United States , some of these lawsuits have even reached the Supreme Court. For example, in MGM v. Grokster, the Supreme Court ruled that the creators of P2P networks can be held liable if their software is marketed as a tool for copyright infringement.

On the other hand, not all file sharing is illegal. Content in the public domain can be freely shared. Even works covered by copyright can be shared under certain circumstances. For example, some artists, publishers, and record labels grant the public a license for unlimited distribution of certain works, sometimes with conditions, and they advocate free content and file sharing as a promotional tool.[48]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Adner, Ron (2012-03-05). "From Walkman to iPod: What Music Tech Teaches Us About Innovation" (in en). https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/03/from-walkman-to-ipod-what-music-tech-teaches-us-about-innovation/253158/. 
  2. ↑ Elser, Amy (March 25, 2005). Reliable distributed systems: technologies, Web services, and applications - Kenneth P. Birman - Google Books. Springer. ISBN 9780387215099. https://books.google.com/books?id=KeIENcC2BPwC&q=napster+first&pg=PA532. Retrieved January 20, 2012. 
  3. ↑ Menta, Richard (December 9, 1999). "RIAA Sues Music Startup Napster for $20 Billion". MP3 Newswire. http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/napster.html. 
  4. ↑ "EFF: What Peer-to-Peer Developers Need to Know about Copyright Law". W2.eff.org. http://w2.eff.org/IP/P2P/p2p_copyright_wp.php. 
  5. ↑ Woody, Todd (February 1, 2003). "The Race to Kill Kazaa". Wired. https://www.wired.com/2003/02/kazaa/. 
  6. ↑ Menta, Richard (October 3, 2001). "RIAA and MPAA sue Morpheus, Grokster and KaZaa". MP3 Newswire. http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2001/sue_morpheus.html. 
  7. ↑ Menta, Richard (July 20, 2001). "Napster Clones Crush Napster. Take 6 out of the Top 10 Downloads on CNet". MP3 Newswire. http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2001/topclones.html. 
  8. ↑ Dean, Katie (September 8, 2003). "RIAA Legal Landslide Begins". Wired. https://www.wired.com/2003/09/riaa-legal-landslide-begins/. Retrieved November 1, 2019. 
  9. ↑ Röttgers, Janko (July 26, 2003). "Bittorrent-Webseiten unter Druck" (in de). heise online. https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Bittorrent-Webseiten-unter-Druck-82795.html. 
  10. ↑ Motion Picture Association. "BELGIAN & SWISS AUTHORITIES BREAK RAZORBACK2: World’s Largest P2P Facilitator Put Out of Illegal Business". https://web.archive.org/web/20060415024031/http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2006_02_21_razer.pdf. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Mufson, Steven (January 20, 2012). "Department of Justice site hacked after Megaupload shutdown, Anonymous claims credit. Washington Post". Washingtonpost.com. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/department-of-justice-site-hacked-after-megaupload-shutdown-anonymous-claims-credit/2012/01/20/gIQAl5MNEQ_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop. 
  12. ↑ Schneider, Joe (January 24, 2012). "Megaupload's Dotcom in Custody as New Zealand Awaits Extradition Request, Bloomberg". Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-24/megaupload-s-dotcom-in-custody-as-new-zealand-awaits-extradition-request.html. 
  13. ↑ Leask, Anna (23 January 2012). "Dotcom in custody ahead of bail decision". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10780553. 
  14. ↑ Musil, Steven. "FileSonic disables file sharing in wake of MegaUpload arrests". CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/filesonic-disables-file-sharing-in-wake-of-megaupload-arrests/. 
  15. ↑ Lanxon, Nate. "Filesonic, Fileserve pull file-sharing services following Megaupload arrests". Condé Nast Britain. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/filesonic-file-sharing-offline. 
  16. ↑ Ernesto Van der Sar (2020-12-17). ""Freedom to Share" Launches EU Citizens' Initiative to Legalize File-Sharing". https://torrentfreak.com/freedom-to-share-launches-eu-citizens-initiative-to-legalize-filesharing-201217/. 
  17. ↑ McCormick, Rich (2015-01-27). "YouTube drops Flash for HTML5 video as default" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/2015/1/27/7926001/youtube-drops-flash-for-html5-video-default. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Rogerson, A.M. (2014). Detecting the work of essay mills and file swapping sites: some clues they leave behind. Semantic Scholar. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Rogerson, A.M.; Basanta, G. (5 February 2016). "Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and Academic Integrity in the Internet Age". Handbook of Academic Integrity. Springer Nature. pp. 273–285. doi:10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_55. ISBN 978-981-287-098-8. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-287-098-8_55. Retrieved 13 December 2023. 
  20. ↑ Eaton, S.E. (12 July 2020). "Academic Integrity During COVID-19: Reflections From the University of Calgary". International Studies in Educational Administration (Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management) 48 (1): 80–85. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/items/3817c241-3d4b-433e-b424-e955e81c0b48. Retrieved 13 December 2023. 
  21. ↑ Butler, J. (15 April 2020). "Arts & Sciences investigates Physics 192 academic integrity breach". Washington University Student Media, Inc.. https://www.studlife.com/news/2020/04/15/arts-sciences-investigates-physics-192-academic-integrity-breach. 
  22. ↑ McKenzie, L. (13 May 2018). "Learning Tool or Cheating Aid?". Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/05/14/professors-warned-about-popular-learning-tool-used-students-cheat. 
  23. ↑ "Information for Faculty: Note-sharing sites". Sheridan College. https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=34999338. 
  24. ↑ "Copyright for Students". Sheridan College. 30 July 2023. https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/copyright_students/home. 
  25. ↑ Delgado, Ray (March 17, 2004). "Law professors examine ethical controversies of peer-to-peer file sharing". Stanford Report. Stanford University. http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/march17/fileshare-317.html. 
  26. ↑ "Poll: Young Say File Sharing OK". CBS News. February 11, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/18/opinion/polls/main573990.shtml. 
  27. ↑ Caraway, Brett Robert (2012). "Survey of File-Sharing Culture". USC Annenberg Press, Creative Commons license (by-nc-nd). http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/1216/720. 
  28. ↑ Filby, Michael (2011). "Regulating File Sharing: Open Regulations for an Open Internet". Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology 6: 207. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fjcolate6&div=24&id=&page=. Retrieved 28 December 2021. 
  29. ↑ Filby, Michael (1 January 2008). "Together in electric dreams: cyber socialism, utopia and the creative commons". International Journal of Private Law 1 (1–2): 94–109. doi:10.1504/IJPL.2008.019435. ISSN 1753-6235. https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJPL.2008.019435. Retrieved 28 December 2021. 
  30. ↑ Glenn, David (July 17, 2008). "Dispute Over the Economics of File Sharing Intensifies". The Chronicle of Higher Education (Washington, D. C.). https://www.chronicle.com/article/dispute-over-the-economics-of-file-sharing-intensifies-989/. 
  31. ↑ Hart, Terry. More Evidence for Copyright Protection , copyhype.com, February 1, 2012. "The literature review looked at a 23rd study but did not classify it here since the author presented a mixed conclusion: the overall effect of unauthorized downloads is insignificant, but for unknown artists, there is a 'strongly negative' effect on recorded music sales."
  32. ↑ AJ Sokolov, Daniel . Wissenschaftler: Studien über Tauschbörsen unbrauchbar , c't magazine, June 11, 2010.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Levine, Robert. Free Ride: How the Internet Is Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, Bodley Head, February 2011, ISBN 1847921485.
  34. ↑ Oberholzer, Felix; Koleman Strumpf. "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis". http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf. 
  35. ↑ Liebowitz, Stan J. (23 September 2007). "How Reliable is the Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf Paper on File-Sharing?". Intellectual Property: Copyright Law eJournal (ResearchGate GmbH). doi:10.2139/ssrn.1014399. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228172429. Retrieved 13 December 2023. 
  36. ↑ Peoples, Glenn. Researchers Change Tune, Now Say P2P Has Negative Impact Billboard. June 22, 2010.
  37. ↑ Oberholzer & Strumpf. "File Sharing and Copyright" NBER Innovation Policy & the Economy, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2010. "Artists receive a significant portion of their remuneration not in monetary form – many of them enjoy fame, admiration, social status, and free beer in bars – suggesting a reduction in monetary incentives might possibly have a reduced impact on the quantity and quality of artistic production."
  38. ↑ Peoples, Glenn. Analysis: Are Musicians Losing the Incentive to Create? Billboard. July 26, 2010.
  39. ↑ Friedlander, Joshua P. & Lamy, Jonathan. Illegal Downloading = Fewer Musicians ifpi.org, July 19, 2010.
  40. ↑ The Impact of Music Downloads and P2P File-Sharing on the Purchase of Music: A Study for Industry Canada , Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz
  41. ↑ Peoples, Glenn. A New Look at an Old Survey Finds P2P Hurts Music Purchases , Billboard. February 2, 2012.
  42. ↑ Barker, George R. Evidence of the Effect of Free Music Downloads on the Purchase of Music CDs Social Science Research Network. January 23, 2012.
  43. ↑ "Estimating displacement rates of copyrighted content in the EU". https://cdn.netzpolitik.org/wp-upload/2017/09/displacement_study.pdf. 
  44. ↑ Bhattacharjee, Sudip., Gopal, Ram D., Lertwachara, Kaveepan. Marsden, James R. & Telang, Rahul. The Effect of Digital Sharing Technologies on Music Markets: A Survival Analysis of Albums on Ranking Charts Management Science 2007.
  45. ↑ Hammond. Robert G. "Profit Leak? Pre-Release File Sharing and the Music Industry " May 2012. File sharing benefits mainstream albums such as pop music but not albums in niche genres such as indie music. ... Further, the finding that file sharing redistributes sales toward established/popular artists is inconsistent with claims made by proponents of file sharing that file-sharing democratizes music consumption."
  46. ↑ Peoples, Glenn. Business Matters: Pre-release File Sharing Helps Album Sales, Says a Study. So Why Not Replicate This Legally? Billboard. May 22, 2012.
  47. ↑ Global Internet Phenomena Report - Spring 2011 Sandvine Global Internet Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. May 12, 2011
  48. ↑ Secure Federal File Sharing Act : Report (to Accompany H.r. 4098) (Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office).. United States.. March 11, 2010. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015085442476;view=1up;seq=1. Retrieved February 15, 2018. 
  49. ↑ Larrier, Travis (March 4, 2013). "Bilal Is the Future (And the Present ... And the Past)". The Shadow League. https://theshadowleague.com/bilal-is-the-future-and-the-present-and-the-past/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=c2ffa10bef1f424fb252543ee09315d038103bd2-1595252623-0-AQaQvFZEknRWDZtLz_-KpHpRYNhNqscHTfCHp6Tr8hduX5gs6uyAaQfef1hB3snODkYFwgSlXH9pQZS_OgmovWZg1dxWOfdv6KYaotwCiVhAfOA1NooyRIZBbQ7AuwrnezemOt0aOvC5JqXaUG-ixf6x0eEfcLz6_aB4mZaVUtX5eXwwFSBkfNJmBxG6In4wWiDOMJXhVyzdm_YyrRyUJNYEEsTZ9jXVjo4xZCyDtxOzub5oRn9F3uGLl4IYob_-oI06lSh6NUnbSSYC8SejeXAaDrJ45SThoPXWHhy2_qU8bC0XPFFKmGzELGJ4Di6R6VT6lqtMNIwnKTLQL7_EXDk. Retrieved July 20, 2020. 

Further reading




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