Sweden Slams Door On File-Sharing Site

(AP)  Four men behind popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay were convicted Friday of breaking Sweden's copyright law by helping millions of users freely download music, movies and computer games on the Internet.

In a landmark ruling, the Stockholm district court sentenced Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom to one year each in prison.

They were also ordered to pay damages of 30 million kronor ($3.6 million) to a series of entertainment companies, including Warner Bros, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Columbia Pictures.

With an estimated 22 million users, The Pirate Bay has become the entertainment industry's enemy No. 1 after successful court actions against file-swapping sites such as Grokster and Kazaa.

Lundstrom helped finance the site while the three other defendants administered it.

Defense lawyers had argued the quartet should be acquitted because The Pirate Bay doesn't host any copyright-protected material. Instead, it provides a forum for its users to download content through so-called torrent files. The technology allows users to transfer parts of a large file from several different users, increasing download speeds.

The court found the defendants guilty of helping users commit copyright violations "by providing a Web site with ... sophisticated search functions, simple download and storage capabilities, and through the tracker linked to the Web site."

The case focused on dozens of works that the prosecutor said were downloaded illegally. They included songs by the Beatles, Robbie Williams and Coldplay, movies such as "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and computer games including "World of Warcraft - Invasion."

Judge Tomas Norstrom told reporters that the court took into account that the site was "commercially driven" when it made the ruling. The defendants have denied any commercial motives behind the site.

John Kennedy, the head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, called the verdict good news for anyone "who is making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will be protected by law."

The defendants said before the verdict that they would appeal if they were found guilty.

"Stay calm - Nothing will happen to TPB, us personally or file sharing whatsoever. This is just a theater for the media," Sunde said Friday in a posting on social networking site Twitter.

The court hearings, which ended March 3, renewed debate about file-sharing in Sweden, where many defend the right to swap songs and movies freely on the Internet. Critics say that Swedish authorities caved in to pressure from the U.S. when they launched the crackdown on The Pirate Bay in 2006.

The Pirate Bay's supporters mobilized for the trial, waving black skull-and-crossbones flags outside the court and setting up a Web site dedicated to the proceedings. The defendants sent updates from the court hearings through Twitter.

The verdict comes as Europe debates stricter rules to crack down on those who share content illegally on the Internet.

Last week French legislators rejected a plan to cut off the Internet connections of people who illegally download music and films, but the government plans to resurrect the bill for another vote this month.

Opponents said the legislation would represent a Big Brother intrusion on civil liberties, while the European Parliament last month adopted a nonbinding resolution that defines Internet access as an untouchable "fundamental freedom."

Sweden earlier this month introduced a new law that makes it easier to prosecute file-sharers because it requires Internet Service Providers to disclose the Internet Protocol-addresses of suspected violators to copyright owners.

Critics said the new law could harm Sweden's reputation as a spawning ground for Internet technology. The country of 9 million has one of Europe's highest rates of Internet penetration, but has also gained a reputation as a hub for file-sharers.

Statistics from the Netnod Internet Exchange, an organization measuring Internet traffic in Sweden, suggested that daily online activity dropped more than 40 percent after the law took effect on April 1.

[growlll]

My question is how many times do the greedy music execs. think we need to pay for "The White" album. First records, then 8 track later the cassete,the dvd and now Mp-3 going to mp-4. After you boy the same album a dozen times you think it would be already payed for life.

[wolfwalker2-2009]

Mac007 may be right. But if they add the fees like he said, does that mean I will be cheated if I DONT download stuff? Just saying

[MacOO7]

This is just prohibition all over again. If they wanted to stop piracy they should have come down on it hard and fast long ago. Instead they let it get to the point where it has become an entrenched right in people's minds. I'm not saying it's a right by the way. I'm saying it's too late to stop it entirely now. The media industry will eventually realize this and do something similar to what they did with cassettes. They'll add small fees to your internet bill and the computers you buy to cover the cost. The end result is you may think you're getting it free but you're still paying for it.

[stn_sage]

On the basis of the info in the article, my knowledge of how companies operate and my understanding of "human nature", I would say Pirate Bay is less guilty of committing some
blatant economic attack upon the music industry, and more guilty of what large companies attempt to do themselves; that is, "get around, exploit, or otherwise twist" the rules to take advantage of a gap in the rules, that allow them to harmlessly facilitate a large number of
people in a minor way!

So, what! Some of these artists---the lesser known ones---should be appreciative of the
free publicity they're getting from the 'word of mouth' traffic! In launching this type of case
it makes all these companies look petty, selfish opportunists! Which, is not likely to
increase sales of any songs or albums with their label on it!

In short, these companies are hurting themselves by trying to hurt Pirate Bay! Shame on them!

[quapawsix]

I guess these companies can't make money selling their over priced recording at the retail level they will get it by people in jail and forcing them to pay restitution knowing full well there is no way these men can pay the 3.6 million in restitution. What scumbags these companies are.

[budmag06]

Kuei1248, you are correct and CBS is wrong. "The Pirate Bay" is up and running and is strong.
This is another attack on personal freedom by the socialists in Sweden, France and especially, the U.S. The "sue everyone" approach of Hollywood doesn't work.

[Kuei1248]

"Sweden Slams Door On File-Sharing Site"

Looks to me like the door is still wide open. Site is still up. Thank God! Kudos to pirate bay members for their bravery and backbone.

[timothyww]

The CD is going the way of the horse and buggy, with downloads being the new technology. The buggy makers began making carriages for cars while the horse people went out of business screaming that cars are too dangerous and that driving speeds over 40 mph would kill humans. Later they adjusted their claim upwards to 50, then 60 mph. I guess we were fortunate not to have listened. I guess.

[dareedle]

It is ironic that the collapse of the financial market coincided with the fall of Elliot Spitzer with a hooker he paid for with his own inheritance. Does piracy threaten the entertainment industry, yes, but is it easier for the industry to hire lawyers than change distribution channels, provide more value to consumers and change their lazy habits ie. charging more for a CD than cassette... all that franchise, comic book, 20 Million + actor salaries, lack of innovation,, you bet. There is no black and white, for most consumers it started with DVDs that got scratched all the time, music we downloaded that had restrictions so we could not use it on our mobile player or our work computer, or we lost the licenses when the computer crashed, websites that offered deceiving content and since the entertainment industry did not provide a solution, the people made their own solutions. Bottom line, politicians will always take the side of the lobbyist (support big finance companies with zero ethics, and help entertainment guys with big wallets). I believe it is best to support companies, that understand innovation is key (Itunes, Hulu, Warner Bros, Disney) can are moving towards cutting edge mobile technology. Mainstream consumers don't want to be pirates, but they want their entertainment content yesterday and at a fair price.

[mejordelahistoria]

I guess teachers should start charging for people spreading their knowledge, this is so ridiculous.