Skip to main content

The Darknet and the Future of Content Protection

  • Chapter
Digital Rights Management

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2770))

Abstract

We investigate the darknet – a collection of networks and technologies used to share digital content. The darknet is not a separate physical network but an application and protocol layer riding on existing networks. Examples of darknets are peer to peer file sharing, CD and DVD copying, and key or password sharing on email and newsgroups. The last few years have seen vast increases in the darknet’s aggregate bandwidth, reliability, usability, size of shared library, and availability of search engines. In this paper we categorize and analyze existing and future darknets, from both the technical and legal perspectives. We speculate that there will continue to be setbacks to the effectiveness of the darknet as a distribution mechanism, but ultimately the darknet genie will not be put back into the bottle. In view of this hypothesis, we examine the relevance of content protection and content distribution architectures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Biddle, P., England, P., Peinado, M., Willman, B. (2003). The Darknet and the Future of Content Protection. In: Becker, E., Buhse, W., Günnewig, D., Rump, N. (eds) Digital Rights Management. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2770. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10941270_23

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10941270_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-40465-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45038-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics