There is only one way to fight illegal P2P networks; start offering a value added legal service that consumers embrace. I am a simple guy, so my definition of "value added" is this: fast downloads, dependable delivery, good quality, and no fuss. You do that, why not pay a small fee for P2P delivery of video?

Forbes had an article today that helps point out why the MPAA might be more interested in PR and is not focused on real solutions.

(excerpts from Forbes)

It sounds great: The guy behind the software that moves a good portion of illegally swapped movies and TV shows through the Internet hooks up with the studios that make the movies and TV programs.

That is what Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent software, and the Motion Picture Association of America, hollywood's lobbying arm, said. Just listen to the press release: "The announcement today is historic in that two major forces in the technology and film industries have agreed to work together."

... But if Hollywood is looking for a way to solve its online piracy problem, this isn't it.

The problem, in a nutshell, is that Cohen can't do a thing to stop folks who want to use his software to swap copyrighted files, no matter how well intentioned he is...

Even folks who use Cohen's official software ... aren't necessarily affected by the agreement. Only users who use a search engine Cohen installed earlier this year will notice a difference, because Cohen has agreed to take down links to pirated files...

So what does the deal really mean? For Cohen, who just recently transformed himself from a programmer with no interest in business into an entrepreneur who has received $8.75 million [in venture capital], it means he can operate his company without being sued by a Hollywood studio...

... NBC Universal has already struck a deal with privately held Wurld Media to begin using peer-to-peer software to distribute some of its films beginning next year. ... [this] could ultimately mean that consumers could pay less for an Internet download than they would through other outlets.

"We could literally take a 1 gig piece of video and sell it for 10 cents and make money," says Wurld Media Chief Executive Greg Kerber. "You can't do that with conventional electronic distribution."