BitTorrent seems to be bucking the trends (see Solveig's blog earlier this week). This week, BitTorrent announced they successfully raised over $8 million from the venture capital firm DCM-Doll. Considering that BitTorrent's huge marketshare in fileswapping realm, the movie industry should be smiling.

I believe that Ashwin Navin, Co-Founder of BitTorrent, summed up what was running through my mind in an interview with USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham:

"The piracy business is not something anyone can make money on," says Ashwin Navin, who co-founded BitTorrent with Bram Cohen. "We want to distribute paid and ad-supported content, using this technology."

Although I can't help but think this move is partly driven by the Grokster ruling and the recent Kazaa case in Australia, I'm glad that BitTorrent realizes the benefits of separating itself from the illegitimate pack. And, kudos to DCM-Doll for recognizing the commercial potential of BitTorrent.

posted by Amy Smorodin @ 1:05 PM | Internet: P2P, Search Engines...

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