A few years back, there were a number of articles floating around regarding Altnet’s strong words on hash code patents. Altnet’s CEO Kevin Bremeister in June of 2003 articulated that several P2P developers were in potential violation of the patents that governed “hash” technology. In a press release issued today, Altnet has made good on its promise.

"Altnet is very focused on the infringement of the TrueNames patent and we believe that many of today's active peer-to-peer applications may be in direct violation," Altnet CEO Kevin Bermeister said in a statement in 2003.

But that was back in 2003, when the P2P world was filled with commercial developers such as BearShare. Three years later, the file-sharing world has changed dramatically. As open source becomes the file-sharing standard, commercial developers are no longer as prevalent as they once were. This leaves a few strongholds such as BitTorrent, Inc., Sharman Networks and StreamCast Networks to hold the line. So who does Kevin’s 2003 statement’s apply to?

Certainly not Sharman Networks. Altnet, when it was first released, was referred to as a “stealth” P2P network because of its clandestine approach to file-sharing. Instead of developing an independent network outright, Altnet instead piggybacks on the FastTrack network (Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, Grokster, etc.) Accessible via Kazaa, Altnet provides authorized content, typically prioritized ahead of unauthorized material. So it’s quite apparent that Altnet enjoys Sharman’s company.

What about BitTorrent, Inc.? Well, BitTorrent really doesn’t utilize hash technology in the traditional sense. Hash technology is truly a unique facet of file-sharing. It utilizes a file’s unique signature to verify its authenticity against sought after material existing in the wild. If a P2P client cannot verify the hash code (signature) of a sought after file, it spares the end user the torment of downloading a bogus or false file. BitTorrent does utilize hash technology; however the implementation of this technology falls on the tracker/indexing administration rather than the developers.

That leaves few other commercial developers of consequence. But wait, there’s always StreamCast Networks.

The feud between StreamCast Networks and SharmanNetworks runs almost as deep as the Litani River. As many recall, StreamCast’s Morpheus P2P client once connected to the FastTrack network (a place Kazaa calls home.) However in February of 2002, Morpheus found itself mysteriously kicked off the FastTrack network. It is widely speculated the reason for this banishment stemmed from StreamCast’s negligence in paying Sharman the necessary licensing fees.