Is peer-to-peer (P2P) Internet file-sharing dying on the vine in the face of lawsuits filed by members of the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA)? Or is P2P alive and well, operating off below the radar screen?

A recent study titled "Is P2P Dying or Just Hiding?," conducted by Professors Thomas Karagiannis and Michalis Faloutos of the University of California at Riverside, and Professors Andre Broido, Nevil Brownlee and kc claffy of the University of California at San Diego, concludes that P2P activity in fact has not decreased, notwithstanding threats of copyright lawsuits and fines. Indeed, the study advises that "P2P traffic represents a significant amount of Internet traffic and is likely to continue to grow in the future."

The study begins by noting that the media recently has reported a supposed sharp decline in P2P traffic over the course of the last year. To drive this point home, the media apparently has reported that the P2P user population has dropped by one-half over this time period. The media is said to have attributed this decline to copyright infringement lawsuits filed by RIAA members.

An attack is mounted against these reports in the study, as the study states that measurements of P2P traffic are "problematic." The study first points out that measurement methodologies usually are not disclosed. Next, the study argues that measurements usually are limited to a small set of two or three traditional file sharing networks; such limited sampling measurements are said to be improperly extrapolated to P2P file-sharing networking as a whole.

The study is quick to explain that current file-sharing networks, which include private P2P networks, afford a number of options to users. Perhaps even more significant, the study states that a growing number of P2P networks "intentionally camouflage their traffic." More recent versions of P2P protocols are said to have the flexibility of using any port number, which is different than earlier P2P traffic, which could be "easily classified due to its use of well-defined port numbers."

The study goes on to develop a framework and heuristics to measure hidden P2P traffic. It also estimates the percentage of P2P traffic with respect to non-specified ports for eight separate P2P protocols.

The results "shed doubt on the claim that P2P traffic is declining." The results show that "P2P traffic volume has not dropped since 2003." The authors conclude that "P2P is here to stay," given that "P2P traffic is at least comparable to last year's levels, if it hasn't increased." With respect to the latter point, the study notes that another study has revealed that P2P traffic actually has increased over the same time period.

Thus, while lawsuits by the RIAA probably have chilled flagrant P2P activities, it appears that covert P2P file sharing continues at least somewhat unabated. Plainly, without the legal actions by the RIAA, P2P file sharing would be more rampant, but these actions have not served as a P2P-buster.

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes. His column appears Wednesdays at USATODAY.com. His Web site is www.sinrodlaw.com, and he can be reached at . To receive a weekly e-mail link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an e-mail with the word Subscribe in the Subject line to .

Reprinted here with permission from USAToday.com.