[fivecups]

From the very beginning, the developer and creator of BitTorrent, Bram Cohen, often referred to the piracy activity on this community as irresponsible - not to mention stupid. Some have paid the price for not heeding his warning, such as the owners of LokiTorrent and Elite Torrent. Those less vulnerable to American legal jurisdiction, such as ThePirateBay, have so far avoided any kind of repercussion.
As time moves forward, two BitTorrents appear to be forming - Bram Cohen's BitTorrent - used for authorized content - and the community's BitTorrent - used for unauthorized content.

The gradual process towards legitimacy furthered in May 2005 with the establishment of BitTorrent, Inc. Following this, BitTorrent made another significant move - making peace with the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) in November of 2005. Although largely symbolic, BitTorrent announced its cooperation with the MPAA to thwart piracy on its local search engine. This was seen as a token step in deterring piracy – yet a monolithic step forward in gaining legitimate traction.

Like any legitimate business, BitTorrent announced the intention to crackdown on the misuse of its trademark. As Bram’s business model unfolds, having his company associated with developers misusing the BitTorrent name to distribute spyware or adware could have negative public relation consequences. Now, BitTorrent is ready for its long anticipated next move – the distribution of legitimate content.

In an announcement made today, BitTorrent, Inc. has partnered with British broadband provider NTL and CacheLogic to deliver authorized content. The move symbolizes the next major step in BitTorrent’s quest to become a legitimate online publication tool.

Initially, the authorized distribution partnership will function under a trial basis. Each company will have their own unique role in fostering this goal. BitTorrent of course will provide the end user with the tool necessary to access and share content. NTL, which fluctuates between public relations crisis and financial loss, will provide the broadband network architecture necessary for the distribution of large files. CacheLogic will be utilized for their P2P caching services. CacheLogic’s technology employs servers on an ISP’s backbone which stores the most sought after P2P requests. This lightens the load on an ISP's network and centralizes such requests for distribution.

“NTL is delighted to be working with its technology trial partners, BitTorrent and CacheLogic, in order to extend its high-quality video experience from the set top box to the media player,” said Kevin Baughan, director of network strategy at NTL. “The trial will be a unique combination of BitTorrent’s P2P client closely coupled with CacheLogic’s network based content caching and NTL’s deep fibre network in order to offer a transformational video downloading experience.”

There was no pricing structure articulated in the press release, and NTL told Slyck.com “it's too early to provide possible pricing info.” The technology trial begins in April of 2006, and the success of this trial will dictate its commercial release. For now, public participation will be limited to customers in Ashford, Kent. The success of this trial will certainly provide a litmus test for skeptical ISPs and content providers around the world.