File sharing is the process in which files such as movies, television series, programs and information is exchanged between people. Often, the files shared are purchased or obtained illegally and then redistributed to other people, usually through the use of the internet. An example of this is P2P. P2P refers to the process of file sharing through sites and programs. The P2P stands for peer to peer meaning that peers share files with each other. An example of P2P is torrenting. Torrenting is the use of a program where peers are on a digital network and take turns downloading programs. While downloading programs, they are known as leechers. When they finish downloading, they become seeders, generally, the more seeders, the faster leechers are able to download. Because torrenting is free, it causes a huge problem for big companies because of the growing problem known as piracy. Piracy is the illegal redistribution of goods. In the New York Times article "Digital Pirates Winning Battle With Studios", the article talks about how the growing issue of piracy, P2P, file sharing and Torrenting has costed the businesses producing movies a lot of money. Sales for movies and DVD sales have dropped a lot and the 2008 Batman movie "The Dark Knight" was a perfect example of the growing issue of piracy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/business/media/05piracy.html?_r=0
This reminds me of the days where Limewire was the medium used to obtain music through P2P File sharing. I think streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify have combated P2P file sharing of copyrighted materials and allowed the owners to monetize their material while allowing users to legally stream the content.
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