Macrovision's (Anti-)P2P Patents

Macrovision provides a lesson in how to curb copyright infringement on P2P networks by creating your own patent universe:

First you apply for a patent ona P2P style decentralized network (US Patent 869208):

A system and methods for communicating over the Internet with devices of a decentralized network using transparent asymmetric return paths are described. Remote capture centers are geographically distributed so as to communicate with devices of a decentralized network that reside in diverse geographical locations. A centralized data center communicates with the remote capture centers so as to generate processed information in the form of reply packets from information received at the remote capture centers from the devices, and transmit the processed information back to the devices in a manner so that the processed information appears to have been transmitted from the remote capture centers.

Then you apply for a patent on a monitoring and anti-copying system in that decentralized network (US Patent 803784):

An interdiction system includes software agents masquerading as nodes in a decentralized network, a query matcher that receives search results captured by the software agents and reports matches with protected files back to the software agents, and a central coordinating authority that coordinates activities of the software agents by sending instructions to the software agents specifying actions to be taken. Possible activities and related interdicting methods include manipulating search results before forwarding them on in the network, quarantining selected nodes in the network, performing file impersonations such as transferring synthesized decoys, performing file transfer attenuation, and hash spoofing.

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