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.