By KARL RITTER
Associated Press Writer - Apr 17, 7:34 AM EDT
STOCKHOLM (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."
In a video clip posted on the Internet, Sunde called the ruling "bizarre" and said it would be appealed. He also dismissed the damages to the entertainment companies, saying "we can't pay and we won't pay."
Mockingly, he held up a hand-scribbled "I owe U" note to the camera. "This is as close as you will get to having money from us," he said.
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."
When he testified in the trial on behalf of international music companies, Kennedy said that illegal file-sharing had cost the recording industry billions of dollars in lost revenue.
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 on social networking site 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.
---
Associated Press Writer Louise Nordstrom contributed to this report.
Full Version: Swedish court convicts 4 men linked to file-sharing site Pirate Bay of breaking copyright law
TPB FTW
So the first verdict finally came, almost 3 years after the raid. You might have heard about it in the news...
You, our beloved users, know that this little speedbump on the information super highway is nothing more than just, a little bump. Todays verdict has already been appealed by us and will be taken to the next level of court (and that will take another 2 or 3 years!)
The site will live on! We are more determined than ever that what we do is right. Millions of users are a good proof of that.
We have seen that some people that we dont know have started collecting donations for us, so we can pay those silly fines. We firmly ask you NOT to do this. Do not gather or send any money. We do not want them since we will not pay any fines!
If you really want to help out, here is a list:
* Seed those torrents a little bit more than you usually do!
* Buy a t-shirt and show the world where your sympathy is.
* If you live in Europe, vote in the election for the EU parliament in June.
* Continue to build the internets! Start more bittorrent sites, blog more, start your own lobby group, create, remix, mash up and continue to grow more heads on this amazing hydra that we know as the internets!
* Do not be afraid of using the network. Invite your friends to this and other file sharing systems. Calm people down if they're upset. We need to stay united.
And say it loud say it proud! We are all The Pirate Bay!
Posted 04-19 22:42 von tpbFtw
source:
http://thepiratebay.org/blog/151
Sabu
So the first verdict finally came, almost 3 years after the raid. You might have heard about it in the news...
You, our beloved users, know that this little speedbump on the information super highway is nothing more than just, a little bump. Todays verdict has already been appealed by us and will be taken to the next level of court (and that will take another 2 or 3 years!)
The site will live on! We are more determined than ever that what we do is right. Millions of users are a good proof of that.
We have seen that some people that we dont know have started collecting donations for us, so we can pay those silly fines. We firmly ask you NOT to do this. Do not gather or send any money. We do not want them since we will not pay any fines!
If you really want to help out, here is a list:
* Seed those torrents a little bit more than you usually do!
* Buy a t-shirt and show the world where your sympathy is.
* If you live in Europe, vote in the election for the EU parliament in June.
* Continue to build the internets! Start more bittorrent sites, blog more, start your own lobby group, create, remix, mash up and continue to grow more heads on this amazing hydra that we know as the internets!
* Do not be afraid of using the network. Invite your friends to this and other file sharing systems. Calm people down if they're upset. We need to stay united.
And say it loud say it proud! We are all The Pirate Bay!
Posted 04-19 22:42 von tpbFtw
source:
http://thepiratebay.org/blog/151
Sabu
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-lawyer-...retrial-090423/
http://www.thelocal.se/19028/20090423/
http://www.dv-depot.com/get/breaking-pirat...y-judge-biased/
http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/04/breaking_pirate.html
Comments from the Swedish Pirate Party
http://www.piratpartiet.se/nyheter/pirate_...iage_of_justice
Homepage of Swedish Association for Industrial Property (SFIR)
Judge Tomas Norström is fifth from the bottom
http://translate.google.com/translate?prev...sl=sv&tl=en
QUOTE
Pirate Bay Judge Accused of Bias, Calls for a Retrial
Written by enigmax on April 23, 2009
One of the biggest cases in file-sharing history ended last week with The Pirate Bay Four sentenced to huge fines and jail time. Today it is revealed that far from being impartial, the judge in the case is a member of pro-copyright groups - along with Henrik Pontén, Monique Wadsted and Peter Danowsky. There are loud calls for a retrial.
king kong defenseIt’s been almost a week since the verdicts of one year in prison and heavy financial damages were passed against the four accused in the Pirate Bay trial. The sentence seemed surprisingly tough to many analysts, with the court chosing to judge on intent only, dismissing all technical evidence.
But did The Pirate Bay Four receive a fair trial? Today, an event on Swedish national radio SR threw everything in to doubt - and it’s barely believable, like something straight out of Hollywood.
The copyright industry likes to have the outcome of processes clear before engaging them so it’s perhaps unsurprising that SR today revealed that the judge Tomas Norström is in league with it on many fronts. The judge has several engagements - together with the prosecution lawyers for the movie and music industries.
Swedish Association of Copyright (SFU) - The judge Tomas Norström is a member of this discussion forum that holds seminars, debates and releases the Nordic Intellectual Property Law Review. Other members of this outfit? Henrik Pontén (Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau), Monique Wadsted (movie industry lawyer) and Peter Danowsky (IFPI) - the latter is also a member of the board of the association.
Swedish Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (SFIR) - The judge Tomas Norström sits on the board of this association that works for stronger copyright laws. Last year they held the Nordic Championships in Intellectual Property Rights Process Strategies.
.SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation) - Tomas Norström works for the foundation that oversees the .se name domain and advises on domain name disputes. His colleague at the foundation? Monique Wadsted.
There are several renowned lawyers and judicial commentators that are attacking Tomas Norström’s decision to take the case, in spite of having a clear conflict of interest.
During the trial it was the judge, Tomas Norström, that was responsible for ensuring that the trial was fair and that the lay judges did not act in their own interests.
Commenting on the revelations, Pirate Bay spokesman brokep said, “Spectrial Cliffhanger in S01 with the verdict - S02 started with the judge being biased. Reality beats fiction yet again!”
“I wouldn’t have taken the case”, says former judicial ombudsman Rune Lavin.
Lawyer Leif Silbersky made a comment all Pirate Bay supporters want to hear, “If the lawyers [for the defense] act on this immediately, this could mean a re-trial.”
And the judge himself? “Every time I accept a case I make an assessment on whether I am part of it or not. But I have not felt that I am biased because of those commitments,” says Tomas Norström.
Previously one of the original lay judges in the case had to step down when his involvement in a music rights group became known. It’s anyone’s guess why the judge didn’t think the same should apply to him.
Whether or not Tomas Norström allowed his personal interests to get in the way of a fair verdict is open for debate, but there can’t be an intelligent human being reading this news that doesn’t feel that it would’ve been better for everyone if he simply backed away from this case and let someone else take over. He has compromised the entire case and verdict.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.
Thanks to Billy
Written by enigmax on April 23, 2009
One of the biggest cases in file-sharing history ended last week with The Pirate Bay Four sentenced to huge fines and jail time. Today it is revealed that far from being impartial, the judge in the case is a member of pro-copyright groups - along with Henrik Pontén, Monique Wadsted and Peter Danowsky. There are loud calls for a retrial.
king kong defenseIt’s been almost a week since the verdicts of one year in prison and heavy financial damages were passed against the four accused in the Pirate Bay trial. The sentence seemed surprisingly tough to many analysts, with the court chosing to judge on intent only, dismissing all technical evidence.
But did The Pirate Bay Four receive a fair trial? Today, an event on Swedish national radio SR threw everything in to doubt - and it’s barely believable, like something straight out of Hollywood.
The copyright industry likes to have the outcome of processes clear before engaging them so it’s perhaps unsurprising that SR today revealed that the judge Tomas Norström is in league with it on many fronts. The judge has several engagements - together with the prosecution lawyers for the movie and music industries.
Swedish Association of Copyright (SFU) - The judge Tomas Norström is a member of this discussion forum that holds seminars, debates and releases the Nordic Intellectual Property Law Review. Other members of this outfit? Henrik Pontén (Swedish Anti-Piracy Bureau), Monique Wadsted (movie industry lawyer) and Peter Danowsky (IFPI) - the latter is also a member of the board of the association.
Swedish Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (SFIR) - The judge Tomas Norström sits on the board of this association that works for stronger copyright laws. Last year they held the Nordic Championships in Intellectual Property Rights Process Strategies.
.SE (The Internet Infrastructure Foundation) - Tomas Norström works for the foundation that oversees the .se name domain and advises on domain name disputes. His colleague at the foundation? Monique Wadsted.
There are several renowned lawyers and judicial commentators that are attacking Tomas Norström’s decision to take the case, in spite of having a clear conflict of interest.
During the trial it was the judge, Tomas Norström, that was responsible for ensuring that the trial was fair and that the lay judges did not act in their own interests.
Commenting on the revelations, Pirate Bay spokesman brokep said, “Spectrial Cliffhanger in S01 with the verdict - S02 started with the judge being biased. Reality beats fiction yet again!”
“I wouldn’t have taken the case”, says former judicial ombudsman Rune Lavin.
Lawyer Leif Silbersky made a comment all Pirate Bay supporters want to hear, “If the lawyers [for the defense] act on this immediately, this could mean a re-trial.”
And the judge himself? “Every time I accept a case I make an assessment on whether I am part of it or not. But I have not felt that I am biased because of those commitments,” says Tomas Norström.
Previously one of the original lay judges in the case had to step down when his involvement in a music rights group became known. It’s anyone’s guess why the judge didn’t think the same should apply to him.
Whether or not Tomas Norström allowed his personal interests to get in the way of a fair verdict is open for debate, but there can’t be an intelligent human being reading this news that doesn’t feel that it would’ve been better for everyone if he simply backed away from this case and let someone else take over. He has compromised the entire case and verdict.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.
Thanks to Billy
http://www.thelocal.se/19028/20090423/
http://www.dv-depot.com/get/breaking-pirat...y-judge-biased/
http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/04/breaking_pirate.html
Comments from the Swedish Pirate Party
http://www.piratpartiet.se/nyheter/pirate_...iage_of_justice
Homepage of Swedish Association for Industrial Property (SFIR)
Judge Tomas Norström is fifth from the bottom
http://translate.google.com/translate?prev...sl=sv&tl=en
Sure sounds like a rigged outcome to me.
Can you say, "kangaroo court?" Great! I knew you could!
Can you say, "kangaroo court?" Great! I knew you could!
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