In a deal aimed at reducing illegal internet traffic in pirated films, Hollywood reached an agreement yesterday with the creator of the popular file-sharing software BitTorrent.

The agreement requires 30-year-old software designer Bram Cohen to prevent his website, bittorrent.com, from linking to pirated versions of popular movies available online, effectively frustrating people who search for illegal copies of films.

BitTorrent must remove web links leading to illegal content owned by the seven studios that are members of the Motion Picture Association of America.

The BitTorrent technology pioneered by Cohen - and used by an estimated 45 million people - assembles digital movies and other computer files from separate bits of data downloaded from other computer users across the internet. Its decentralised nature makes downloading more efficient but also frustrates the entertainment industry's efforts to find and identify movie pirates.

The agreement represents the latest effort by the entertainment industry to discourage illegal internet downloads. It also demonstrates Cohen's sensitivity toward Hollywood's piracy problems, making him potentially more attractive to studios for future deals related to movie downloads.

Cohen disclosed in September his company had raised $8.75m (£5m) in venture funding to develop commercial distribution tools for media companies.

The agreement with Cohen would not prevent determined surfers from finding movies or other materials using tools or websites other than Cohen's, but it removes one of the most convenient methods people have used so far.