In a filing of 1st April with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, a Californian developer called Brilliant Digital
Entertainment Inc. revealed that its software was being bundled
with downloads of the KaZaA software.
The KaZaA software, which is currently downloaded free from
kazaa.com at a rate of around 2 million copies each week, allows
users to download song, image and movie files from the computers of
others on-line with the KaZaA software installed on their
computers.
The Brilliant Digital software, called Altnet, will serve ads to
KaZaA users – although KaZaA users are already familiar with paying
this price for the file sharing services. However, more
controversially, the SEC filing explains that the software creates
a network “to leverage the processing, storage and distribution
power of a peer-to-peer network comprised of tens of millions of
users.” And it is access to this network that Brilliant Digital
plans to sell.
The KaZaA web site was recently acquired from Dutch owner KaZaA
BV by an Australian company, Sharman Networks, described as “a
consortium of private investors with multimedia interests.” At the
time, many questioned the commercial attraction of a service that
was arguably running contrary to the laws of the US and other
countries.
However, an article on Internet.com’s Australian site comments
that the “Enron-like maze of legal structures through which Sharman
Networks was created puts further doubt on to who is really pulling
the strings.” Brilliant Digital’s CEO and Sharman Networks’ CEO
apparently worked together at Sega World. Brilliant Digital’s CEO
also brokered the sale of KaZaA BV.
According to CNet News, Brilliant Digital plans to “turn on” its
distributed computing network within the next four to six weeks.
Sharman Networks yesterday defended the deal with Brilliant
Digital, saying it had “no downside” for KaZaA users and met
“industry standards” of privacy protection.
According to Brilliant Digital, when the switch is flicked, a
pop-up box will ask KaZaA users whether or not they want to
participate in the network. Since February, when the Brilliant
Digital software was bundled with KaZaA’s software, there have been
20 million downloads.
KaZaA.com has been re-launched today with more information on
its privacy policies and on Sharman Networks and the connection
with Brilliant Digital/Altnet.
