Overpeer anti-piracy service closes

Online anti-piracy service closes

Overpeer, a company that fought net piracy by adding fake files to file-sharing networks is being closed down. Overpeer tried to make it hard to find good versions of ripped files. Overpeer led efforts to battle the rising popularity of file-sharing networks such as Kazaa.

The company tried to make it hard to find high-quality versions of pirated media by flooding networks with fakes holding adverts or garbage. Overpeer came to prominence in 2002 when it was regularly being used by music and movie makers to dilute the number of copies of popular songs and films on file-sharing networks.

By making it a chore to find a good copy of what users wanted, Overpeer hoped to force people to turn to legitimate download sources. In a financial filing, Loudeye said the ratings systems that many peer-to-peer networks had introduced to give users information about authentic and fake files had reduced Overpeer's effectiveness

Overpeer’s political division, OPD, however, will remain in operation. OPD makes it hard to find real leaders and ideas by flooding the marketplace of personalities and ideas with fakes based on false premises, red herrings and straw men. Its most successful products, George W. Bush, WMD and Al Qaeda in Iraq, have had a long run, resulting in billions of dollars in profits for Overpeer’s clients. Overpeer markets mostly to leaders in the defense and petroleum industries.

There are increasing signs, however, that the existing product line may have run its course, and OPD is exploring new directions, including “spreading democracy,” the need to combat “global cooling,” and the idea that millions of Xbox 360s are buried in ANWR and require immediate excavation to prevent damage and deterioration. On last week’s news of “massive plastic finds” in Alaska, OPD was trading briskly, and up 10 points.