BBC News – Pirate Pay torrent ‘blocker’ backed by Microsoft

A Russian company has developed software it says can disrupt and prevent people from downloading pirated content. Pirate Pay has been backed by Microsoft and has so far worked with Walt Disney Studios and Sony Pictures to stop “thousands” of downloads. The tool poses as real bit torrent users but then “confuses” peer-to-peer networks, causing disconnections. Critics argue that the method will be ineffective in the long term. The entertainment industry claims that the downloading of pirated material costs copyright holders billions of pounds in lost revenue every year. Last month, the British Phonographic Industry won a court battle to force UK internet service providers to block its customers from accessing high-profile piracy site The Pirate Bay.