Talking of P2P type stuff, the Motion Picture Association Of America has announced it will be showcasing partnerships with a number of P2P companies at this week's TelecomNext conference in Las Vegas. The P2P companies in question are those that are looking at ways to use file sharing technologies to legitimately distribute content (mainly film, obviously) over the net - and include Audible Magic, CacheLogic, Peer Impact, Red Swoosh, Thomson Content Security and BitTorrent Inc. The move is part of the MPAA's bid to demonstrate that while it is working with the likes of the RIAA to tackle illegal P2P usage through the courts, it is also investing time into how P2P can be legitimately used to benefit the entertainment business.
The involvement of BitTorrent in this showcase is perhaps most interesting because, of course, BitTorrent technology, which enables the quicker transfer of large digital files, has been a particular headache for the music and film industries in the last couple of years. As previously reported, the man behind BitTorrent, Bram Cohen, is keen to find legitimate uses for his software - though it remains to be seen if the kids who utilise the technology are as enthusiastic about Cohen's co-ventures with the entertainment business as they were about using his software for illegitimate file sharing purposes.