A good illustration of how Microsoft uses Kazaa to promote its format is the eight-minute promotional video for the Boom Boom HuckJam tour, a production of Mission Viejo-based Tony Hawk Inc. Craig Sneiderman, the tour's promoter, said the video was posted on the tour's Web site in QuickTime format and sent to sporting goods stores, but he wanted an inexpensive way to reach a much wider audience.
In particular, he wanted to use Altnet to reach the tens of millions of consumers on Kazaa. When the show's backers refused to cover Altnet's fees, Sneiderman's fellow promoter, Mike McGinley, turned to Microsoft, which agreed to cover the costs of distributing a Windows Media version of the video.
Microsoft even bought ads on Kazaa to promote the Boom Boom HuckJam video, said Sharman spokeswoman Kelly Larabee.
The Altnet projects pose at least two risks for entertainment companies: They encourage consumers to use Kazaa by making high-quality videos available there, and they bolster the arguments by Sharman's lawyers that the network has a substantial legitimate use.
"We think it's an excellent example of the growing commercial uses of peer-to-peer technology," Larabee said of Microsoft's work.
On the other hand, a lawyer close to the Hollywood studios said the projects may be a boon to their lawsuit against Sharman. Contrary to the company's claims that it can't control infringements on the network, the source said, the Microsoft videos show "you can run a peer-to-peer system and protect copyrights."
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