Former Sharman networks/Kazaa top employee Kevin Bermeister is planning a potentially lucrative bait and switch proposal that aims to stop dubious downloading with the help of his old foes
A little background
In case you never grew up in the age of pirate buccaneering, when P2P downloader’s set sail across the vast digital ocean, there was a time when music companies felt particularly powerless in trying to circumvent a technological and legal minefield.
It felt like a host of new lawsuits were challenged every month in the US courts, while it was a Dutch court-ordered breakup of a little known P2P client that set the standard for further legal battles, making it easier than ever for P2P downloading ease-of-use. Kazaa had begun to lay new tracks across hallowed turf where previous companies like Napster and Grokster had gone and failed before them.
Trading under the Australian based Sharman networks, Kazaa were the go-to-guys for the planets largest P2P content library – and most of it was largely being traded by millions of users using the client without receiving the music labels appropriate copyright permission.
But thanks to a bunch of ads, spyware and other nefarious malware imbedded nasties (which Kazaa later claimed to have cleaned up in future versions), the software download became immensely profitable for Sharman networks. It made Shaman networks squazillions of P2P dollars in hard pirate currency; just the kind we imagine Jack Sparrow would cross the ends of the earth to secure the treasure laden chests of P2P gold.
It gets even juicier
After a few years of difficult court battles, Kazaa finally settled with the various rights holders, changed tactics and offered a modified (and totally legal) software download. This of course prompted web rumours predicting the demise of Kazaa. By comparison, it looked as though BitTorrent enabled P2P networks quickly gained overnight popularity and made old-school clients such as Kazaa and Napster appear positively moth-bitten and ancient.
And that’s where the crux of this story gets really interesting. It was Kazaa’s right hand man, Kevin Bermeister who absorbed much of the criticism and lawsuits during Kazaa’s most tumultuous days. And now, in a brilliantly designed bait and switch, it’s the same (although presumably changed) Kevin Bermeister who has seemingly departed his pirate ship in true fighting form; although these days he now fights for a completely new side.
Joining forces with old foes
It’s been reported that Kevin Bermeister has joined forces with his former nemesis Michael Speck , who once headed the same anti-piracy group (Music Industry Piracy Investigations) that sought to bring Kazaa and many other P2P clients to justice. Together, they have recently created the ‘Brilliant Digital Entertainment’ company, which runs clever ISP-level software that targets and attempts to stop people from downloading pirated materials online.
Your ISP may not be so innocent
It’s all the more unusual sounding, when you consider that the ISP’s involved with providing the software may claim to profit from the strategy because customers who search for and click on a song within any given P2P client (such as Limewire), they may be given the choice to pay for a legal copy of it and have the charge added to their monthly internet bill.
Adding to the intrigue, there are rumours that an undisclosed Australian ISP will be one of the first to trial the new and potentially lucrative software next month.
Playing it straight
Kazaa software is still available these days to download, but operates in a much tougher economic climate. The new software only links to legal and copyrighted material and under this pay-per-download framework, the emerging dominance of global players including iTunes have made it far more difficult for smaller players to get on board and seek out the new (and legal) rewards.