Peer-to-Peer networks no place for Gov't.

• Position: Technology - Brief Article

Recent controversies over file-sharing and copyright policy have spawned hot debate in the courts and the halls of Congress, but a study issued by the Cato Institute, Washington, D.C., argues that government interference in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks would hinder technological evolution. A better recipe, suggests the report, would be for government to step aside and allow the market to find a solution through digital rights management (DRM).

In "Peer-to-Peer Networking and Digital Rights Management: How Market Tools Can Solve Copyright Problems," Michael A. Einhorn and Bill Rosenblatt illustrate how P2P technology and DRM can coexist peacefully in a market system, essentially quashing the complaints of consumer advocates who argue that DRM puts too much control in the hands of copyright holders.

"By preserving property rights made possible through new market techniques, DRM encourages producers to innovate because they are more certain of an eventual reward," the authors contend. As evidence, they offer the case of...