Ruling highlights dangers of P2P

The US Supreme Court last week ruled that peer-to-peer (P2P) software distributors can be sued if their systems are used to illegally transmit copyright material. Following the ruling, experts said that companies with file-sharing systems should take steps to minimise their risks, as more lawsuits are likely to follow. 

The judgement, in the case of MGM versus file sharing network Grokster, overturned a precedent set 20 years ago relating to copying onto video tape. The turnaround means technology developers can be held responsible for copyright infringements enabled by their technology. John Ensor, a lawyer at Olswang, said the US ruling would not directly affect UK firms with P2P software but it indicated the trend against file-sharing tools.

"In much the same way that the Business Software Alliance targets large firms in its anti-piracy drive, I would expect to see firms investigated for copyright infringement. I would expect to see a couple of big targets closed down. If IT managers are allowing P2P on their systems, then they are at risk."

Nigel Hawthorn, marketing director of security appliance vendor Blue Coat Systems, said he knew of a university with 35,000 seats that had been told to remove copyright music files from its network.

"But where do you start?" Hawthorn asked. "Now, very few firms want to give access to their users and in many enterprises they say, 'P2P stands for porn to piracy.'"

Hawthorn added that IT managers are also concerned about the amount of resources that P2P systems use, particularly bandwidth.