WebProNews

The creator of the high-speed file sharing application has linked up with Hollywood studios in an effort to clamp down on movie piracy and promote a way for film distributors to get their wares to users online.

Much has been made of BitTorrent's unlawful use by people to upload and distribute movies, and that has been a thorn in Hollywood's paw for some time. Now, Bram Cohen, BitTorrent's creator and CEO, has agreed to work with the Motion Picture Association of America in an effort to help stop movie piracy.

The MPAA and BitTorrent announced an agreement that will see Cohen's company work more closely with the studios to remove links to movies from BitTorrent's search engine.

In return, the studios give their imprimatur to the BitTorrent technology, which means they may favor it if and when the studios decide to embrace online distribution of films on a broader scale. "We will have distribution announcements in the future," Cohen said at a news conference with MPAA Chief Executive Dan Glickman.

Cohen and BitTorrent have long decried the misuse of the software for illegal filesharing of any type. While they gain a more public endorsement of the technology for getting large data files like movies from one place to another, the real benefit will come when the big studios really do license BitTorrent and use it.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.