Torrent Times is making torrent sites much harder to abolish. The latest pirate site to take advantage of the browser plug-in is Kickass Torrents, which now allows users of the site to stream the videos without the use of a torrent client.
The browser plug-in will only work with the right peers who have the content to stream. It isn't as efficient as directly downloading it though, since the video quality is based on how fast or slow a user's internet connection is.
But with the right ingredients, Torrent Times makes Kickass Torrents work much like the streaming giant Netflix. There is subtitle support for easier viewing. It works on browsers like Google Chrome, IE Firefox and can even be played via Chromecast, AirPlay or DLNA.
It is Torrent Times who keeps The Pirate Bay on the map. The site, which was recently taken down by copyright holders, recently made use of the plug-in, which proved to work well. Kickass Torrents followed suit shortly.
With the rise of the streaming torrent technology, the same parties that took down The Pirate Bay are now after Torrents Time, which is based in the Netherlands. Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN has made their first steps in taking it down.
The group claims that having the plug-in with such capability up and running is "unlawful and [infringes] the copyrights and neighboring rights of others, including the rights holders whose interests are represented by BREIN," lawyer Pieter Haringsma said (via Torrent Freak).
"In the interest of and on behalf of the rights holders represented by BREIN, we request that you cease and desist the distribution of Torrents Time immediately," he added.
However, the folks at Torrent Times maintain that the software is not illegal as BREIN says it is because it was "carefully crafted not to do anything whatsoever so as to breach copyright or neighbouring rights." That being said, it looks like Kickass Torrents should be around for a while too.
