Torrents Time just made a big splash on the piracy and streaming scene, and it attracted so much attention that it already received a cease-and-desist letter after a few days.
The Netherlands-based anti-piracy group BREIN considers the browser plug-in as an "illegal application," requesting the developers to "cease and desist the distribution of Torrents Time immediately."
According to BREIN, Torrents Time is under the law in Netherlands, as the application is hosted on Dutch servers.
"[Torrents Time] structurally and systematically facilitates, enables and participates in the making available of infringing content without the authorization of the respective copyright and neighbouring rights holders," BREIN says.
The group says that the software is allowing illegal distribution of popular films and TV series of certain rights holders that it represents, noting that those titles are not licensed for distribution through the system of Torrents Time.
The demands don't stop there, as BREIN is also requesting that the creators of Torrents Time should provide their geographical address and anyone else who is involved in the distribution of the tool.
The cease-and-desist letter brought a lot of questions that remain to be answered. Some users are baffled at BREIN's claim, saying that Torrents Time does not provide the torrent files and it's basically an external client such as uTorrent. The people behind the plug-in browser also share the same sentiment, sending out a clear and concise reply to BREIN.
"You are therefore advised to seriously re-think your cease and desist demand and advise my Clients that you withdraw your demands," Torrents Time says.
The letter continues to say that the creators are warning BREIN to not try taking any legal action against third-party entities that use or host the software. More to the point, they are seeking to "stop the fight before it becomes unstoppable" and that they hope that BREIN is a "member of the legitimately acting legal society and not a mob thug."
How this will all pan out is definitely an interesting topic. It's also safe to assume that this legal battle will take quite a while, as BREIN won't probably step down the plate without putting up a fight.
For those who don't know, Torrents Time is a simple browser plug-in that allows users to stream content on torrent websites that adopted the technology. That means users will be able to view torrent videos without the need for a third-party client to download them. It's compatible with either Windows or Mac and uses a simple but functional video player.
The Pirate Bay immediately became the world's largest streaming website when it implemented the software. Other piracy websites such as KickassTorrents, Torrentproject.se, Videomax.is and Online.porntime.ws are reportedly going to integrate the application with their websites as well.
Seeing the current state of things, BREIN will probably understand that the Streisand effect really is in due time.
