Peer Impact and Snocap represent different approaches to so-called copyright-respecting P2P, which refers to online content services that enforce copyright while offering some of the features of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.  Peer Impact is a "walled garden" service that only allows DRM-packaged files to be shared among participants.  It uses Microsoft Windows Media DRM for audio and video files, and technology from Macrovision's TryMedia division for games.  Peer Impact also offers "swarming" technology, somewhat similar to that of BitTorrent, that optimizes delivery of large files over the Internet.

In contrast, Snocap allows (in theory) any music files to be traded; it determines their identities by means of acoustic fingerprinting technology from Philips Labs.  The other big difference between Peer Impact and Snocap is that Peer Impact is in production, while Snocap -- or more accurately, its retail partner Mashboxx -- is still in test mode. 

We believe that copyright-respecting file-sharing services will not amount to much by merely offering the same content as "publishing" services like iTunes and Napster; downward pricing pressures won't support the business model, and commissions paid for "sharing" on US $0.99 music tracks are not very interesting.  However, these services are likely to succeed with higher-priced content, such as video games, and with what Wired magazine calls "long tail" content, such as some of the old TV shows that NBC Universal is now making available on Peer Impact.   Feature sets will find niches in the online content market, and within a year or two, unwieldy labels like "copyright-respecting peer-to-peer" will fade away.

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