Morpheus Tool Would Let Users Sell Digital Files

The controversial Morpheus online network, which enables people to copy files from one another’s computers free, plans a feature that will let users sell digital music, movies and other material to one another.

The move by StreamCast Networks, which owns the Morpheus technology, aims to provide more legitimate, non-copyright-infringing uses for the network. More than two dozen movie studios and record companies are suing Morpheus’ owners for copyright infringement, contending that the network is a haven for digital pirates.

StreamCast Chief Executive Steve Griffin said the network’s first commerce tools should be available within four weeks.

Those tools will enable people to wrap a digital file of any kind in a protective layer of software that controls how the file may be used, Griffin said. The wrappers could demand payment, or they could require a user to view advertisements in order to play the protected file.

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Jon Healey