Scour

Multimedia search engine and peer-to-peer file exchange service from the late 1990s.

Peer-to-peerSearchFile sharingDot-com era

Bankrupt^{Source [4]}^{Source [6]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Scour

Scour was an internet company started by UCLA students that built a multimedia search engine and, in spring 2000, the Scour Exchange peer-to-peer file sharing program, which let users trade music, video and image files and reached an estimated 5 million users.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}

It drew investment from former Disney president Michael Ovitz in 1999. In July 2000 the MPAA and RIAA sued Scour for copyright infringement in federal court in Manhattan, alleging it had made 1.8 million infringing files available and seeking $150,000 per work infringed.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}

The litigation led Scour to lay off 52 of its 64 employees in September 2000, and it filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Central District of California in October 2000. It shut down Scour Exchange on November 16, 2000 and agreed on December 18, 2000 to sell its assets to CenterSpan Communications, subject to bankruptcy court approval.^{Source [4]}^{Source [1]}^{Source [6]}

What happened

Founded in 1997 by students at UCLA, Scour ran a multimedia search engine and the Scour Exchange peer-to-peer file sharing service. In July 2000 the MPAA and RIAA sued it in federal court in Manhattan alleging copyright infringement, and in October 2000 it filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. On December 18, 2000 it agreed, subject to bankruptcy court approval, to sell its assets to CenterSpan Communications Corporation.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [4]}^{Source [6]}

Timeline

2000-12-18Agreed to sell its assets to CenterSpan Communications, subject to bankruptcy court approval.^{Source [6]}
2000-11-16Shut down the Scour Exchange service.^{Source [1]}
2000-10Filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.^{Source [4]}^{Source [6]}
2000-09Laid off 52 of its 64 employees.^{Source [4]}
2000-07Sued by the MPAA and RIAA for copyright infringement.^{Source [5]}^{Source [1]}
2000Launched Scour Exchange, its peer-to-peer file sharing program.^{Source [1]}
1999Received backing from Michael Ovitz.^{Source [1]}
1998Developed a multimedia search engine; Travis Kalanick left UCLA to work on Scour full time.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}
1997Founded by five UCLA students.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}

Products and brands

Scour.com search engine: Multimedia search engine that indexed audio, video and image files on the web.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}
Scour Media Agent: Windows application for finding and downloading media hosted on other servers and sites.^{Source [1]}
Scour Exchange: Peer-to-peer file sharing software for music, movies and pictures, launched in spring 2000.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}

How it makes money: Scour offered free search and file sharing services to consumers and was funded by private investors, including former Disney president Michael Ovitz.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}^{Source [5]}

Leadership

Dan Rodrigues

President^{Source [4]}

Until 2000

Funding and financials

Date	Round	Amount	Investors
1999	Private investment^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}		Michael Ovitz

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 3 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Travis Kalanick	Founding team member1998 to 2000	CloudKitchens2018 to nowActiveUber2009 to 2019IPORed Swoosh2001 to 2007Acquired

Sources

Scour Play, The Harvard Crimson, 2000-11-30. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Scour Inc., Wikipedia. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Travis Kalanick, Forbes. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Scour Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Streaming Media, 2000-10-13. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
MPAA, RIAA sue Scour, The Register, 2000-07-24. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Asset Purchase Agreement between CenterSpan Communications Corporation and Scour, Inc. (Exhibit 2.1), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2000-12-18. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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