Photo: DPA

Entertainment industry hails Pirate Bay guilty verdict

Published: 17 Apr 09 16:02 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20090417-18703.html

Calling it a victory for artists, the German entertainment industry has welcomed Friday’s guilty verdict in the case against four men behind Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay for copyright infringement.

The men were each sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay 30 million kronor ($3.56 million) in damages between them.

Representatives of the entertainment industry in Germany rejoiced at the verdict.

Head of the German Music Industry Association Stefan Michalk said on Friday in Berlin it makes clear that such sites have “nothing to do with romantic views of buccaneering, but are actually a modern form of theft with which the operators – for example with advertising revenue – personally get richer.”

Meanwhile the head of the German Culture Council Olaf Zimmerman said the verdict was an “important victory” in the battle to secure the rights of creators and other copyright holders. “But the frightening thing is that there may already be similar websites ready at the gates, where organisers will make other tools for burglary available,” he said.

The trial has attracted international attention, with file sharers and copyright holders around the world wondering what sort or precedent may be set.

"By providing a website with ... well-developed search functions, easy uploading and storage possibilities, and with a tracker linked to the website, the accused have incited the crimes that the file-sharers have committed," the court said in a statement.

Founded in 2003, The Pirate Bay makes it possible to skirt copyright fees and share music, film and computer game files using bitTorrent technology, or peer-to-peer links offered on the site.

None of the material can thus be found on The Pirate Bay server itself.

The four, who have denied any wrongdoing, are expected to appeal the verdict and have previously vowed to take the case as high as the Swedish Supreme Court if necessary.

The Pirate Bay claims to have some 22 million users worldwide, and according to public prosecutor Håkan Roswall, The Pirate Bay produced annual earnings of around 10 million kronor ($1.2 million).

Despite the verdict, the website is still operating.

External link: The Local Sweden's full story on the Pirate Bay verdict. »

DDP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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Your comments about this article:

#1
16:32 April 17, 2009 by SmittyBoy
I guess the execs at google are a bit worried about this verdict. after all, Pirate Bay was the equivalent of Google, it just tended to be used to locate people who were sharing music, or movies or such.

This verdict is an indication that the people charged with making such decisions don't know enough to be making them.
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#2
16:56 April 17, 2009 by djlowballer
If we have any swedes here I would like a clarification:

In Sweden I though filesharing without the intent for profit and gain was LEGAL.

The crux of this conviction is that they somehow showed TPB was for profit thus ILLEGAL.

Since that is such a strange thing to prove, wouldn't it have a good chance of being overturned by a higher court?
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#3
19:25 April 17, 2009 by Punchbear
Still defiant.

Who'da thunk it - Sweden and Somalia hotbeds of piracy. Where next - Miesbach?
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#4
19:33 April 17, 2009 by Keydeck
Probably Aaaaaaarrrnnstadt.
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#5
19:49 April 17, 2009 by Punchbear
Or Gaaaaaarrrrrching.
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#6
14:17 April 18, 2009 by gatzke
I guess the execs at google are a bit worried about this verdict. after all, Pirate Bay was the equivalent of Google, it just tended to be used to loc…
The phrase I keep seeing is "guilty of assisting the distribution of illegal content online" which seems rather broad.

Google would fit.

Same for any discussion board that allows posting URLs.

Maybe the ISPs and Telecos that enable the network could be targets for not filtering P2P?

Intel, Apple, Microsoft as well? Computers assist in the distribution of content...

I just don't understand how telling someone where to look for *potentially* illegal stuff is against the law. Crazy.
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#7
15:33 April 20, 2009 by hughk
First, it appears that the prosecution may have obtained leaked the verdict early. Apart from the irony, there is some concern about this and a possible inquiry. This will not cause any appeal to be lost but it isn't going to make the judiciary very happly.

However, the main thing is that however much of a temporary success this is, it appears that the majority of the people in Sweden are unhappy with the verdict and it appears that the Swedish Pirate Party is looking good for the upcoming European Parliamentary elections at the moment.
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#8
09:29 April 21, 2009 by cb6dba
Thankfully I do not use any internet websites that use links to other resources... Oh, hang on - Mr Google and Miss Yahoo, can I have a word....

I am against file sharing of copyrighted material but if it wasn't for people doing it I would not be able to buy a single MP3 from the various online shops. I would have to buy either a single or a whole album.

Even though it may be illegal I would say it has brought about a better system from a customer point of view.

This is going to go to appeal and what can the recording industry do if Sweden (as in the people living there) are against the case? What would happen if the law in Sweden changes so that there is no longer a case to answer?

I love the way the record companies paint the picture of struggling artists having the bread stolen from their mouths. They were already doing that, there is just less bread than there used to be.

As I said, it may be illegal but the industry has started to change. Imagine being told in a clothes shop that you cannot just buy those jeans, you have to buy the shoes, socks, the top and the matching hat.
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#9
09:35 April 21, 2009 by HellesAngel
Imagine being told in a clothes shop that you cannot just buy those jeans, you have to buy...
... eleven other very similar pairs of jeans that are all somehow just not as good as the one you want, a bit disappointing really, but you just have to pay for them and take them away with you.

Everyone with an attention span longer than the creative input of a girl band album knows what the music industry (big hint in the term there) is up to, and it has got nothing to do with standing up for artists' rights.
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#10
09:40 April 21, 2009 by Johnny English
Disengenuous example with the jeans. More realistic is that jelly babies are sold in packets of 30, and whilst you might love biting heads off the green ones - they are only economically sellable as a full pack, so you get stuck with some other flavours that are not quite as good.
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#11
09:43 April 21, 2009 by Hazza
But there has never been anything stopping an individual retailer from opening the packs and selling the jelly babies individually...
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#12
09:46 April 21, 2009 by Johnny English
But what I think is good is that you can see the direction the industry is taking. The Arctic Monkeys pretty much became an online hit before even having a record contract. I think from a £10 CD an artist might typically get £1 in their pockets before tax. So you can see that actually most artists would be happy to get £1 for an album if selling direct and cutting out all the middlemen.

Basically the whole industry needs to become more streamlined, with the product being delivered direct from artist to punter. Technology will kill off the EMI's of this world. No loss really as far as I am concerned.
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#13
09:47 April 21, 2009 by Exile
I wish the media would stop calling them the "Creative Industries". If they where genuinely creative they wouldn't have got into the position of feeling threatened by file sharing.
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#14
09:53 April 21, 2009 by Johnny English
That's not fair either. You could have a "creative" artist - such as a painter, and it would be pretty annoying to make a limited edition of 100 pieces of something - and then have someone copy 10,000 extras and flog them for buttons.

So you can be creative and still be copied and ripped off.
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#15
10:04 April 21, 2009 by Exile
The artists are not the same thing as the "industry". Region codes, DRM, trying to lock out format translation (i.e. ripping) , putting annoying, factually dubious, crap adverts at the beginning of a DVD telling someone that just legally bought their product that it you ripped it off on torrent its really naughty but at least you won't have to put up with this bollocks before you could enjoy the film.

The Artists may well be creative but the people running the industry have yet to prove they are capable of it.
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#16
10:04 April 21, 2009 by Genie
I think from a £10 CD an artist might typically get £1 in their pockets before tax.
Buy direct then. Whenever there's an option, I do that. I don't mind shelling out 2-3EUR for a few MP3s, knowing that the band gets the money and pays people who really helped with creating and distributing the music.
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#17
10:07 April 21, 2009 by Johnny English
Buy direct then. Whenever there's an option, I do that.
I think that was my point - it is going that way. Just right now you can't buy Madonna or U2 direct can you? In a few years it will all be direct from the artists, and websites like iTunes will be just there as a platform.
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#18
10:15 April 21, 2009 by Genie
Wouldn't want to buy Madonna or U2 anyways, but you're right that there's a sort of catch 22 here with the music industry contract signing. I think the internet should have broken that circle 10 years ago, but that just shows you how conservative and boxed-in all these "creative musicians" are. Too many of them are just too afraid to go out against the record companies and just stand on their own feet.

Exceptions I know of are Radiohead (well, it's easy when you're riding on top) and an Israeli outfit called Asaf Avidan and the Mojos (highly recommended for Joplin fans), which are unfortunately only selling CDs in their online store.
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#19
14:57 April 21, 2009 by admetus
In the wake of the PB verdict, and the subsequent renewed media enthusiasm in featuring stories about digital downloading, anyone else see that snippet doing the rounds this week about those who download music illegally being 10 times more likely to pay for songs than those who don't (Gizmodo)? It's still only one academic study, on a sample size of 1,900, and reports on it seem to be based on a loose translation of a Norwegian newspaper article (Aftenposten) about it, but it would support at least some of the anecdotal evidence which is invariably re-hashed in this ongoing debate.
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#20
15:23 April 21, 2009 by Small Town Boy
This confirms the ridiculousness of the record industry's approach of systematically suing their own customer base.
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#21
15:26 April 21, 2009 by gideon
those who download music illegally being 10 times more likely to pay for songs than those who don't
Maybe because those who download illegaly have an interest in Music and are therefore logicaly more likely to buy legal copies. If somene doesn't download illegaly it's a sure sign that person does not have such a casual interest and consumption pattern. Where can i get a job writting that sort of rubbish please.
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#22
16:12 April 23, 2009 by Darkknight
It's not over yet...Now things are really going to get interesting on appeal..

Judge In Pirate Bay Trial Biased
"The judge who handed down the harsh sentence to the four accused in the The Pirate Bay trial was biased, writes Sveriges Radio (Sweden Public Ra…
Here's another report, this time in Native English
However, Norström insisted to the radio station that his membership of the various copyright protection groups did not ?constitute a conflict of in…
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#23
20:42 April 23, 2009 by legal_alien
Buy direct then. Whenever there's an option, I do that. I don't mind shelling out 2-3EUR for a few MP3s, knowing that the band gets the money and pays…
I would like to see artist websites have a 'give us a fiver' button to donate the money direct to the band. I guess the record companies wouldn't accept that, but it's indie/left-field artists I generally like anyway.
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#24
20:54 April 23, 2009 by Dostoyevsky
  • there's no difference between The Pirate Bay and Google
    • What's funny is that I almost never use TPB when I am searching for torrents. I always use google.
    Report abuse »
    #25
    12:49 April 24, 2009 by Hutcho
    To suggest this judge wasn't biased is ridiculous given these facts. Imagine if he was a member of an anti-copywrite group. Do you think the prosecution would claim that to be fair?
    Report abuse »
    #26
    13:20 April 24, 2009 by wood artist
    Let me suggest a different analogy that might make this more understandable.

    I'm an author. I spend a lot of time, effort, and money to write a book. I sign a contract with a publisher, who agrees to pay me a percentage of the sales as compensation for the work I did. That money allows me to live, and to write something else. In turn, I grant the publisher the right to print the book, distribute it, and make a profit from the sales.

    Now, suppose somebody decides to scan the book and offer it on line for free. The publisher, of course, loses sales. I lose my income. Everybody gets the book for free, and can read it online or download it as they chose.

    Two things happen here. I can no longer protect my work, so...I just stop writing. Why should I? Assuming I'm doing it to "make a living" I can't pay the bills anymore. I'll go become a bus driver or something else. The second thing is that nobody writing can make a living, so we all quit.

    While you can object to the "obscene profits" the "industry" makes, remember that somebody had to pay the artist, make the recording, and put some effort into marketing the band you've never heard of before. Sure that can be done on YouTube and such, and some of that may well be the next business model, but it doesn't change the fact that the artist has been victimized. If someone stole your work and deprived you of your paycheck in the process, how would you feel? Would you be inclined to keep showing up for work every day? Doubtful.

    It is true that the whole business model for the music industry is changing, and no one has figured it out yet. However, when the artist can no longer get paid for his/her work, the artist will stop producing. None of us, even artists, can live on zero income. Regardless of where the new solutions come from, stealing is stealing...always has been, always will be.
    Report abuse »
    #27
    13:28 April 24, 2009 by Hazza
    So what does this have to do with a site that provides links and nothing more?

    It's the same as making the company that built the road liable because the road allowed the bank-robbers to escape...
    Report abuse »
    #28
    13:39 April 24, 2009 by Bipa
    Monty Python did an interesting "experiment" which counters many arguments put forward by the big companies.

    Monty Python Puts Free Videos Online, Sells 23,000% More DVDs
    Monty Python started a YouTube channel with tons of their sketches streaming for free. The included links to their DVDs at Amazon. The result was a wh…
    Monty Python Fights Piracy With New YouTube Clips
    In a great new development, which they say is aimed at defeating piracy, ending the spate of "crap quality videos" people are posting on You…
    Report abuse »
    #29
    14:01 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    Let me suggest a different analogy that might make this more understandable.

    I'm an author. I spend a lot of time, effort, and money to wri…
    Let me suggest this with the same crappy analogy that might make this more understandable:

    If I tell you where you can scan and copy your book you can't send me to jail.
    Report abuse »
    #30
    14:09 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    Monty Python did an interesting "experiment" which counters many arguments put forward by the big companies.
    I wouldn't say it counters the arguments of the big companies. Comparing Monthy Python (Cult - collectable - multiview - older demographic - tangiable expectations) with other products such as a film or non-tested series (intangiable - one-off viewing - mixed demographic - non-collectable) is naive.

    It is though an interesting business plan but it all still boils down to the legal fact that a copyright owner can and should be able to decide what he does with his products.
    Report abuse »
    #31
    14:11 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    If I tell you where you can scan and copy your book you can't send me to jail.
    Yes you can. Which is why copyshops do not allow you to copy a whole book. Even if all they do is point you in the general direction of the photocopier. Also, in order for your analogy to be correct you should say...

    If I tell you where to scan and copy your book and make money by doing so...
    Report abuse »
    #32
    14:15 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    If I tell you where to scan and copy your book and make money by doing so...
    Making money for charging you for my advise or making money for tagging advertisements to everything I say?

    Everything is wrong because people are just too stupid to understand how things work.

    PS. I am not a pirate sympathizer, I just hate when people do not get it.
    Report abuse »
    #33
    14:17 April 24, 2009 by admetus
    Now, suppose somebody decides to scan the book and offer it on line for free. The publisher, of course [emphasis mine], loses sales. I lose my income. Everybody gets the book for free, and can read it online or download it as they chose.
    Public libraries taking bread from my mouth, claims author. Seriously though, I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I've yet to read conclusive empir…[/quote]Maybe not if the book is a 'how-to' manual on how to build a nuclear device. But that's another thread.
    Report abuse »
    #34
    14:18 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    Maybe not if the book is a 'how-to' manual on how to build a nuclear device. But that's another thread.
    I do not think so.
    Report abuse »
    #35
    14:21 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    Making money for charging you for my advise or making money for tagging advertisements to everything I say?
    Does not matter, as both are considered commercial activities under the eye of the law.
    PS. I am not a pirate sympathizer, I just hate when people do not get it.
    Don't get what? Funny enough most of the people who to use your phrase "get it" are also not people who are in any way talented enough to earn their daily bread in a creative industry. If they did. They would very quickly get that it's a stick in the eye to watch your future royalties and pension scheme go kansas on you.
    Report abuse »
    #36
    14:23 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    Public libraries taking bread from my mouth, claims author.
    Public libraries pay fees to publishers.
    Report abuse »
    #37
    14:26 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    Does not matter, as both are considered commercial activities under the eye of the law.
    It matters because law is just law, not morality.

    Or should we sue Google for showing me ads when I search for torrents or pedophilia or cr…[/quote]"Get it" means to understand how technology works, what you clearly do not understand.

    I happen to own a collection of about (legally bought) 1000 CDs and maybe 200 DVDs. That does not make me stupid enough to give opinions on technology without first understanding how they work.
    Report abuse »
    #38
    14:41 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    It matters because law is just law, not morality.
    It's actualy not morality but ethics which is up to discusion. Don't make this issue sound any bigger than it is.
    Or should we sue Google for showing me ads when I search for torrents or pedophilia or cracks?
    That is quiet possibly the next step. E-Bay has been held accountable in a few countries too. France in particular, a country whose luxury exports have suffered from the E-Bays malpractice. Acc…[/quote]Bit of a bold statement there. I happen to have been involved with copyright protected creative industries for two decades, so am not only aware of how technology works but its affects on those industries, the legal implications and the consequences on business plans and marketing opportunities looking into the future.
    I happen to own a collection of about (legally bought) 1000 CDs and maybe 200 DVDs. That does not make me stupid enough to give opinions on technology…
    Sadly though, this also seems to not make you intelligent or knowledgable enough to be able to opinionate on the business ramifications for the industry either.
    Report abuse »
    #39
    14:48 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    It's actualy not morality but ethics which is up to discusion. Don't make this issue sound any bigger than it is.
    Laws are not about ethic either.
    That is quiet possibly the next step.
    It will never happen. Or you could say bye bye to the Internet.
    Bit of a bold statement there. I happen to have been involved with copyright protected creative industries for two decades, so am not only aware of ho…
    So you are one of those who thinks that every download is one copy that was not sold. LOL

    The world changed, you can't stop the future from happening.
    Sadly though, this also seems to not make you intelligent or knowledgable enough to be able to opinionate on the business ramifications for the indust…
    At least I do understand the technology. And the "ramifications of the business" will change, you like it or not.
    Report abuse »
    #40
    14:54 April 24, 2009 by admetus
    Public libraries pay fees to publishers.
    But the cost to the user is indirect and not proportional to use.
    They would very quickly get that it's a stick in the eye to watch your future royalties and pension scheme go kansas on you
    It may be obvious to you that that's what's happening, but I don't think it is necessarily straightforward to make a direct, unambiguous and exclusive…[/quote]Oh, I don't know. Counselling, aiding and abetting? Information of a kind? It was just a throwaway anyway.
    Report abuse »
    #41
    14:57 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    Oh, I don't know. Counselling, aiding and abetting? Information of a kind? It was just a throwaway anyway.
    You would need to know the contain of the book first to be charged. But since you NEVER saw/touched/etc the book ...
    Report abuse »
    #42
    14:58 April 24, 2009 by Bipa
    I wouldn't say it counters the arguments of the big companies. Comparing Monthy Python (Cult - collectable - multiview - older demographic - tangiable…
    I didn't say ALL... I said it counters MANY of the arguments.

    And it is quite naive to think that once I own a DVD or CD or book or some other copyrighted article that I won't do with it as I like. I've lost quite a few dupes over the years due to scratches or even getting stuck in the CD changer and having to pry it out with force. I will continue to make copies of my CDs to use in my car, make music mixes according to my own personal taste, and I will continue to loan out my books, CDs and DVDs, and borrow others in return from friends. To think otherwise is naive.
    It is though an interesting business plan but it all still boils down to the legal fact that a copyright owner can and should be able to decide what h…
    It all still boils down to the realistic fact that a copyright owner cannot decide what is done with his products once they are out of his hands and out of his control. To think otherwise is naive.

    To follow up on the Monty Python example: There have been many, many occasions when I have borrowed something from a friend and liked it so much that I went out and bought my own copy.
    Report abuse »
    #43
    15:13 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    It will never happen. Or you could say bye bye to the Internet.
    It's already started!
    So you are one of those who thinks that every download is one copy that was not sold.
    No, you see I've worked in Pay-TV so I'm awesomely aware of the fact that audience interest and take up of a free product does not automaticly equate …[/quote]Oh god, someone please give you a rather large dosis of reality. The internet is like a teenage rebelious child. It is maturing into an established market. It will come under more and greater governmental control and legal scrutiny as we go along. I give it a decade before it is as radical as a cheese sandwich.
    At least I do understand the technology. And the "ramifications of the business" will change, you like it or not.
    Wow. I'm impressed. You understand the technology. But like all technology that's the easy bit. Crickey. Even I understand the technology. Oh and yes the business has changed. And not always for the better. But also for the better in others. But still the moral issue being fought for, now as in the future, is the right to ask for payment for what you have produced.
    Report abuse »
    #44
    15:17 April 24, 2009 by gideon
    It all still boils down to the realistic fact that a copyright owner cannot decide what is done with his products once they are out of his hands and o…
    Yes he can. Your purchase of a copyrighted article is an agreement to his impossed conditions. What he can not do is control what you do. Now that is naive.

    Bipa don't confuse the issues by bringing in non-commercial reproduction and "real" peer to peer exchange and what PB is all about. One is the best form of marketing and not only accepted, but hungered for by the "big companies", precisely for the arguments you have given. The other isnt.

    Anyway, I feel arguments chasing tails here. Or rather the nerds and geeks and people who go W00T and LOL sharpening their google links. Time for the weekend!
    Report abuse »
    #45
    15:18 April 24, 2009 by fathert
    I have a book on my desk that was bought from a charity shop, it has a big yellow sticker on the front saying:

    "We always need more books" "Read it then bring it back for others to enjoy"

    Now presumably buying it from charity shop and not new deprived the author (John Le Carré in case you're interested) of a sale and when I take it back and they sell it again he will be deprived of another sale. So why aren't all charity shops and second hand book sellers being persecuted for profiting from someone else's work without paying for it?

    Tim.
    Report abuse »
    #46
    15:22 April 24, 2009 by Bipa
    Bipa don't confuse the issues by bringing in non-commercial reproduction and "real" peer to peer exchange and what PB is all about. One is t…
    Errr... seems like you're the naive and confused one. PB is a perfect example of real peer to peer exchange, eh?

    (pun intended )
    Report abuse »
    #47
    15:25 April 24, 2009 by Krieg
    No, you see I've worked in Pay-TV so I'm awesomely aware of the fact that audience interest and take up of a free product does not automaticly equate …
    There is empirical evidence showing that people who download media also buy legal media, because you know, people who are interested in music/movies buy more than people who have no interest.

    If someone definitely won't buy something you can't do anything, you can't stop piracy. If the Internet was not there, they will just wait until the movie comes on TV or the song is played in the radio.
    Oh god, someone please give you a rather large dosis of reality. The internet is like a teenage rebelious child. It is maturing into an established ma…
    Ironic, the "Creative Industry" is the one who needs doses or reality. Because as far as I know, reality is what is happening in the real world (duh) not what you wish it happens.

    There is not technical way you can stop piracy, deal with it.
    Wow. I'm impressed. You understand the technology. But like all technology thats the easy bit. Crickey. Even I understand the technology. Oh and yes t…
    Morality is not law. Difficult to understand?

    Media makers will always get payment, because there will be always people who want to buy the "real" thing. Just accept that some people will get it without paying for it. The Internet is at the end not that different than a library or public TV or radio.

    If I tape a TV show and play it again in the privacy of my home, am I "stealing"?

    Are TiVos illegal?
    Report abuse »
    #48
    18:23 April 24, 2009 by till
    The internet is like a teenage rebelious child. It is maturing into an established market. It will come under more and greater governmental control an…
    Are you serious? The battle has been ongoing for over a decade already, and the pirates are decidedly winning. The laws are already there. The problem is that you can't actually enforce them. Even the kiddies playing around on public torrent sites are essentially never even warned, much less prosecuted. It takes far too much effort. If the situation gets worse, there's still Freenet, I2P, and even projects like Freifunk which are building city-wide wireless mesh networks.

    There's no legal or technical solution that would actually work without killing the internet and creating a police state. Drug dealers still use telephones, y'know. It's the reality of an open network.
    Report abuse »
    #49
    07:44 April 25, 2009 by wood artist
    Gideon observed:

    Bipa don't confuse the issues by bringing in non-commercial reproduction and "real" peer to peer exchange and what PB is all about. One is the best form of marketing and not only accepted, but hungered for by the "big companies", precisely for the arguments you have given. The other isnt.



    The problem here is that we aren't dealing with "real" peer to peer exchange. Exchange, in its classical meaning, would suggest that I trade a book I own to you, and you either read and return it, or give me a book you own in its place. That's fine. Each of us paid for a book, and we have the right to share it with others.

    In this case, however, we are not "exchanging" anything. I have a copy, and I'm allowing you to make an additional copy. The writer, by contract, assigned that privilege to the publisher, and the publisher must pay the author when he does it. Therein lies the difference. In truth, and they have always admitted it, TPB exists for one reason, and one reason only: to openly facilitate theft! While Google might serve similar purposes for those who chose to head down that road, it was not the intent, nor is it the primary intent of the site.

    If the original was gone, then nothing was "stolen." If the original remains, then somebody is illegally duplicating copyrighted material. This is nothing more or less than outright theft.

    That said, however, I understand that anyone who doesn't make their living on the "other side" of this discussion will struggle to understand it. After all, you get your movies, music, or books for free, and you don't confront the person from whom you are stealing. What a deal! It is true the internet is changing all of these traditional business models, and I have no problem with that. I do, however, still have a problem with someone stealing something from me. I suspect you would also, assuming you were the victim.

    WA
    Report abuse »
    #50
    15:55 April 25, 2009 by Bipa
    I support artists and folks who have created something I like and use by purchasing a legal product. That isn't a problem for me. But I'm tired of hearing the constant whining from large entertainment corporations.

    As for Pirate Bay, tracking sites are pretty much obsolete anyway with Google, Tribler, and iPredator which is coming soon from the PB guys.

    (attached image)
    Report abuse »
    #51
    13:58 April 26, 2009 by FuzzyTony
    • there's no difference between The Pirate Bay and Google

    I suppose the interesting question for Swedish law is how to draw the line between Google and TPB. From a user's perspective, they're not too different.
    I guess the execs at google are a bit worried about this verdict. after all, Pirate Bay was the equivalent of Google, it just tended to be used to loc…
    What's funny is that I almost never use TPB when I am searching for torrents. I always use google.
    To make a point about the double standard that's been happening here, let's have the two together, shall we?

    (attached image)The Pirate Google
    "The intention of this site is to demonstrate the double standard that was exemplified in the recent Pirate Bay Trial. Sites such as Google offer…
    Report abuse »
    #52
    14:21 April 26, 2009 by Bipa
    Cam Cardow of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper had a cute cartoon a few days ago that shows it pretty well:

    (attached image)
    Report abuse »
    #53
    19:29 June 30, 2009 by Chocky
    So the founders are in jail, and TPB has been sold to a games developer.
    Report abuse »
    #54
    22:02 June 30, 2009 by Darkknight
    Last I read the founders are NOT in Jail.
    Report abuse »
    #55
    22:06 June 30, 2009 by xargon
    Can't believe they sold out! 8 million is a lot of money though.
    Report abuse »
    #56
    22:59 June 30, 2009 by wood artist
    While it may be completely unfair, it is nonetheless true that they chose the name Pirate Bay. For a whole lot of people that suggests they knew that what the site would do was likely illegal.

    I know that's not "evidence" in a court of law, but it is likely to color the thinking of a judge or jury. It's little different than naming your pawn shop something like You Stealem and I'll Fence'em. You might be a completely legal business, but it does look questionable.
    Report abuse »
    #57
    23:25 June 30, 2009 by Bipa
    Yikes! Guess that's the last time I ever book rooms and have dinner at the Il Pirata Hotel and restaurant in Lido di Monvalle, Italy.

    We must have been just plain lucky that nothing illegal happened while we were there the last two times.
    Report abuse »
    #58
    14:30 September 2, 2009 by Punchbear
    Interesting.
    ACCESS TO THIS IP ADDRESS RELATING TO THE PIRATE BAY WEBSITE HAS BEEN BLOCKEDWHY?

    On the 24 July 2009, an Order was made by the High Court requiring eircom to block or otherwise disable access by its subscribers to the w…
    Report abuse »
    #59
    15:52 September 2, 2009 by hughk
    Punchbear - the site is still up on the Vodafone network. Some people has reported DNS issues but that seems to be circumvented by using OpenDNS to service name lookups. I don't seem to have that problem though.
    Report abuse »
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