Was that title cut off, or is "VI" an abbreviation for something? Anyway, for those of you who are interested in researching p2p networks (and trying to persuade other academics to pay attention to them), here is something to bolster your case...although it doesn't really make the implications clear. I think it's hard to explain copyright issues' and p2p's relevance to our discipline to people who aren't techies. It's absolutely necessary, but I haven't seen anyone do it yet, at least not with p2p. In this white paper, there is a section called "So What Does P2P Have to Do With Us Anyway?" These authors try to explain, but they don't quite get there. If I weren't already aware of the stakes in the intellectual property/copyright debates and didn't already know something about p2p technology, I would be lost. Here is a summary of the white paper:

Educational networks are facing one of the most difficult transitions ever. Today, more file sharing P2P networkers are clogging educational systems than every before. Spam email pales in comparison to the congestion created by Napster and other P2P applications. Academic institutions must prepare for the challenges presented by P2P networking by understanding the limits of copyright protection and by striving for a balance between academic freedom and unrestricted network utilization.

Via elearnspace.