Pirate Bay found guilty

[Magda Hassan]

Pirate bay guilty

Published: 17 Apr 09 15:50 CET
<http://www.thelocal.se/18908.html>

The four men connected with The Pirate Bay were found guilty of being
accessories to copyright infringement by a Swedish court on Friday,
delivering a symbolic victory in the entertainment industry?s efforts to
put a stop to the sharing of copyrighted material on the internet.

"The Stockholm district court has today convicted the four people
charged with promoting other people's infringement of copyright laws,"
the court said in a statement.

The four defendants in the case, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg,
Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstr?m, were each sentenced to one year in
prison and ordered to pay 30 million kronor ($3.56 million) in damages.

The Stockholm District Court printed up 250 copies of the judgment to
meet the expected interest from media outlets.

"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 filesharers have
committed," the court said in a statement to the media.

The court added that the four "knew that copyrighted material was being
fileshared."

The one-year jail sentences were motivated by the "extensive
accessibility of others' (copy)rights and the fact that the operation
was conducted commercially and in an organized fashion."

In an unusual step, the court also held a press conference shortly after
making the ruling public.

Taking questions from dozens of journalists, district court judge Tomas
Norstr?m explained that the 30 million kronor damages claim was to be
paid together by all four men.

Thus, if one of the defendants doesn?t have the money to cover his
share, one of the other men would have to pay a larger share of the claim.

Norstr?m was also asked if the ruling meant that other websites such as
Google, which handle bitTorrent files, are also illegal.

?We?ve looked at the conditions in this case,? answered Norstr?m.

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.

Swedish police raided the company's offices several times and seized
nearly 200 servers in 2006, temporarily shuttering the site. But it
resurfaced a few days later with servers spread among different countries.

The site is still in operation.

According to public prosecutor H?kan Roswall, The Pirate Bay produced
annual earnings of around 10 million kronor ($1.2 million).

He argued that the site was purely a business enterprise and that
defendants should each receive prison sentences of up to one year.

Each of the four men charged in the case are connected to The Pirate Bay
in different ways, although none claim to be the sole founder or primary
operator of the site.

During the trial, they argued that they hadn?t earned a single krona
from The Pirate Bay and that the site was more of a hobby. The income
earned from advertising on the site simply covers the cost of operating
The Pirate Bay, they claimed.

Specifically, the case dealt with alleged illegal file sharing of 20
songs, nine films, and four computer games with the US entertainment
industry looking to claim up to $15 million in damages from the accused.

The courtroom proceedings, which concluded in early March, featured a
number of tense moments, memorable quotes, and legal theatrics.

On the second day of the trial, Roswall announced he was amending the
charges by removing all mention of "complicity in the production of
copyrighted material".

"A sensation," defence lawyer Per E. Samuelson said at the time.

"It is very rare that you win half the case after one and a half days
and it is clear that the prosecutor has been deeply affected by what we
said yesterday."

Later, the defence accused prosecutors and lawyers for the entertainment
industry of ?Perry Mason tactics? when they attempted to introduce new
documents into evidence.

And when Per Sundin, the head of Universal Music in Sweden, detailed the
losses suffered by his company in recent years, he laid the blame
squarely on The Pirate Bay, calling the site ?the biggest and baddest
villain? in the music industry?s battle against illegal file sharing.

But it was defendant Svartholm Warg who perhaps best summed up his and
the other defendants? attitudes toward the entertainment industry and
prosecutor Roswall, following the latter?s argument in his closing
statement that The Pirate Bay was a profitable business.

?The old bastard?s crazy,? he told the TT news agency during a break in
the proceedings.

Attorney Per E. Samuelson, who represented Carl Lundstr?m in the case,
suspected that the Stockholm court had been subject to ?political
pressure? in reaching its judgment.

?Power, the establishment, all point their fingers at a group of young
rebels who have found a new technology and say that they should be
convicted. That makes it not so easy for the district court to resist
such political pressure,? he told the TT news agency, adding that his
client was ?shocked and upset? over the verdict.

?He?s facing a damages claim of 30 million kronor and is also supposed
to sit in prison for a year because he provided an internet connection.
It?s incomprehensible to him,? said Samuelson.

Samuelson added that he plans to file an appeal as soon as possible, as
did Jonas Nilsson, the attorney for Fredrik Neij.

While Friday?s ruling is an important step in clarifying some of the
legal issues associated with the distribution of copyrighted material in
the digital age, it is by no means the final word.

With an expected appeal by the defendants, the case may eventually be
heard by Sweden?s Supreme Court, with a detour through the European
Court of Justice also a possibility, according to many experts.

Either way, it will likely be several years before a final ruling in the
case is reached, by which time today?s bitTorrent technology may very
well have been replaced by a new method for sharing files on the internet.

[Magda Hassan]

I don't really understand the rationale for the courts decision and it seems they have been lent on politically. Using their 'logic' shops where kitchen tools are sold could be charged with making the means of murder by knife available, auto makers could be charged with making hit and run or drive by shootings happen or armed hold up escapes possible. I don't think that in this case anyone can be responsible for the actions of others and in this case there is no proof that a third party has acted illegally anyway. You would have to close down the whole internet because some people use the internet for illegal purposes. Telephones are used to make obscene phone calls too but nobody talks about eliminating phone companies.

As I mentioned in a previous post here there is also a connection to wikileaks which is not being covered by the MSM. I am sure that TPTB would like to see them both gone. Information is a dangerous thing in the hands of the people.

[Peter Lemkin]

I don't really understand the rationale for the courts decision and it seems they have been lent on politically. Using their 'logic' shops where kitchen tools are sold could be charged with making the means of murder by knife available, auto makers could be charged with making hit and run or drive by shootings happen or armed hold up escapes possible. I don't think that in this case anyone can be responsible for the actions of others and in this case there is no proof that a third party has acted illegally anyway. You would have to close down the whole internet because some people use the internet for illegal purposes. Telephones are used to make obscene phone calls too but nobody talks about eliminating phone companies.

As I mentioned in a previous post here there is also a connection to wikileaks which is not being covered by the MSM. I am sure that TPTB would like to see them both gone. Information is a dangerous thing in the hands of the people.

Monsanto and others have literally stolen plants and animals DNA in part and some whole and made it their own via patents - and this is, so far, judged as legal. Montsanto also produced DDT and PCBs which pollute [and cause cancer in] every living animal on Earth....and they haven't been held accountable for that either. Nor the USA for invading and stealing Iraq and its oil for a few years while killing a million or so. Corporate and State theft and harm/killing is OK; the rest of us better watch out! The point about Google being equally guilty is a VERY interesting one - but 4 non-conformists were a much easier and the preferred target. I believe what is behind this is not so much about loss of profits, but control over information flow on the internet, which has many behind the curtain very edgy. Will be interesting to see what comes of this and I'd expect many, MANY similar suits all over, but mostly in USA - real soon. Of course no one is going to follow Magda's logic and get intelligence-connected Palladin Press in Court [they publish books on how to kill, make bombs, pick locks, plan ambushes, etc. etc.]. Nor is the NSA for sucking-up and storing every bit of every upload and download, every bit and byte on the internet. Get the little guys. Pirate's Bay also had stuff about JFK, 911 and such. Were they really after the music downloads? Doubt those who leaned on the judge cared about non-political music or videos, really. That was just the cover-story IMO.

Stepping back one step from the internet, this could mean all librarians should be locked-up and fined - and all you who copied a tape back in the 70s through 90s - or ever loaned a friend a book..... ad infinitum.

NB - Wikileaks looks like a hot site, indeed.

[Peter Lemkin]

Wow! Sweden is going the way to the USA. This just in. The case is being appealed because the defendants found-out the Judge is a member of several anti-copyright infringement groups!!! He should have recused himself due to conflict of interest. They will have easy sailing now! Pirates Ahoy!:captain:

[Magda Hassan]

VERY interesting, Peter.
What an idiot. What a tool. Good on the pirates! Someone will walk the plank for this.

Sweden is going the way of the US. Look at the abandonment of neutrality and the wholesale adoption of NATO. They have a huge arms industry. Look at the elimination of Palme. Despite neutrality in WW2 they weren't much more than a northern branch office (with out the high gas bill or camps) for the 3rd Reich. The neo-nazi and fascist movement is very strong there

[Peter Lemkin]

VERY interesting, Peter.
What an idiot. What a tool. Good on the pirates! Someone will walk the plank for this.

Sweden is going the way of the US. Look at the abandonment of neutrality and the wholesale adoption of NATO. They have a huge arms industry. Look at the elimination of Palme. Despite neutrality in WW2 they weren't much more than a northern branch office (with out the high gas bill or camps) for the 3rd Reich. The neo-nazi and fascist movement is very strong there

Yes, it will be very difficult to convict them now on the next trial they will likely win, but the prosecutors might appeal again. I agree on Sweden, in what you say. I lived there and I lived in all the other Scandinavian countries, and while very civilized, in some ways, the authorities are quite different than the other Scandinavians. There is a old royalty and they hang-out with the munitions company crowd. Palme's death had to do with Iran-Contra and a Swedish Arms company named Bofors. Ollie North was involved at a distance - and all his pals [along with some of those neo-Nazi types IMO.]

[David Guyatt]

It's an awful but typ[ical conflict of interest Pete, but my cynics guess is that the conviction will stand because the corporate barons demand that.

I'll gladly donate to a defence fund if Pirate Bay need one.

[Magda Hassan]

Leaked: Police Plan to Raid The Pirate Bay

More than half a decade after Swedish police officers first raided The Pirate Bay, there is talk that a second police raid against the world's most famous torrent site is in the planning. The Pirate Bay team has learned that local authorities have acquired warrants to take action against the site, and expect that both servers and the new .se domain name may be targeted soon.In the spring of 2006 a team of 65 Swedish police personnel entered a datacenter in Stockholm. The officers were tasked with shutting down the largest threat to the entertainment industry at the time The Pirate Bay's servers.The raid eventually led to the conviction of four people connected to The Pirate Bay, but the site itself remained online.Today, the Pirate Bay team has informed TorrentFreak that a second raid is being prepared by the Swedish authorities. The site's operators, who are well-connected in multiple ways, learned that a team of Swedish investigators is gearing up to move against the site in the future.The suspicions were also made public by The Pirate Bay a few minutes ago."The Swedish district attorney Fredrik Ingblad initiated a new investigation into The Pirate Bay back in 2010. Information has been leaked to us every now and then by multiple sources, almost on a regular basis. It's an interesting read," the Pirate Bay crew notes."We can certainly understand why WikiLeaks wished to be hosted in Sweden, since so much data leaks there. The reason that we get the leaks is usually that the whistleblowers do not agree with what is going on. Something that the governments should have in mind even your own people do not agree."The Pirate Bay team confirmed to TorrentFreak that the announcement is no prank. The authorities have obtained warrants to snoop around in sensitive places and two knownanti-piracy prosecutors, Frederick Ingblad and Henrik Rasmusson, are said to be involved.Employing a little psychological warfare aimed at putting the investigators off-balance, the Pirate Bay team has chosen to make the news public to make the authorities aware that they are not the only ones being watched.According to The Pirate Bay team they aren't doing anything illegal, but nonetheless they noticed that the investigation intensified after the site's recent move to a .SE domain."Since our recent move to a .SE domain the investigation has been cranked up a notch. We think that the investigation is interesting considering nothing that TPB does is illegal," they say."Rather we find it interesting that a country like Sweden is being so abused by lobbyists and that this can be kept up. They're using scare tactics, putting pressure on the wrong people, like providers and users. All out of fear from the big country in the west, and with an admiration for their big fancy wallets."Behind the scenes The Pirate Bay team is working hard to ensure that the site will remain online in the event that servers, domain names and Internet routes are cut off. In this regard The Pirate Bay has learned a valuable lesson from its former operators.Those who are aware of the site's history know that without a few essential keystrokes in May 2006, The Pirate Bay may not have been here today. When Pirate Bay founder TiAMO heard that something was amiss, he decided to make a full backup of the site before heading off to the datacenter, where he was greeted by dozens of police officers.

Footage from the 2006 Pirate Bay raid

TiAMO's decision to start a backup of the site is probably the most pivotal moment in the site's history. Because of this backup the Pirate Bay team were able to resurrect the site within three days. If there hadn't have been a recent backup, things may have turned out quite differently.It was a close call at the time, and a defining moment in the history of the site. The determination to get the site back online as soon as possible set the defiant tone for the years that followed. Today, the site prides itself in being the most resilient torrent site around.In recent years The Pirate Bay has implemented a variety of changes to guarantee that the site remains online. It added several backup domains, placed servers all over the world, and removed resource intensive processes.Earlier this week The Pirate Bay took another important step by removing .torrent files altogether to become a "magnet link" site. As a result, the entire site can now be reduced to a few hundred megabytes, small enough to fit on the tiniest thumb drive.For the police, this makes a successful Pirate Bay raid almost impossible. While they can take steps to put the site out of business briefly, it's inevitable that it will re-appear in a matter of hours, or days.Or to use the words of the Pirate Bay team. "We're staying put where we are. We're going no-where. But we have a message to hollywood, the investigators and the prosecutors: LOL."
http://torrentfreak.com/police-plans-to-...ay-120309/

[Peter Lemkin]

The unanswered question - that I think will never be addressed:

Norstrom was also asked if the ruling meant that other websites such as
Google, which handle bitTorrent files, are also illegal. :darthvader:

?We?ve looked at the conditions in this case, answered Norstrom.

[Peter Lemkin]

Pirate Bay Under DDoS Attack From Unknown Enemy
enigmax
May 16, 2012

With court-ordered ISP blockades popping up all over Europe, The Pirate Bay is no stranger to being silenced. However, for the last 24 hours the site has been largely inaccessible world wide due to a completely different type of censorship. After the site openly criticized Anonymous last week for DDoS'ing UK ISP Virgin Media, The Pirate Bay itself is now under attack.

Although Pirate Bay downtime happens a handful of times each month, it rarely persists for more than a few hours. When it goes beyond that the steady flow of reader emails to TorrentFreak quickly transforms itself into a torrent.

At the time of writing The Pirate Bay has been inaccessible to most of the world for nearly 24 hours and our inbox' is suffering. But it appears to be the timing of the downtime that has caused more people than usual to panic.

The root lies in the recent court-ordered censorship of The Pirate Bay in the UK. The country's leading ISPs are required to block the site so millions of people were already expecting to have trouble accessing the domain. What they didn't anticipate was the failure of the many published workarounds to resupply access to the site.

For those to work the site itself has to be working properly and currently it is not. While TPB is used to being censored by courts and ISPs, it is a little less used to being blacked-out by other means. TorrentFreak is informed by a Pirate Bay insider that the site is currently being subjected to a DDoS attack rendering it unavailable in many parts of the world.

Now, while we're informed that the problem might be mitigated during the next few hours, the timing of this attack against the site is either ironic, interesting' or at the very least coincidental, depending on your viewpoint.

Just last week, The Pirate Bay openly criticized elements of the Anonymous' collective for carrying out a DDoS attack on Virgin Media, the first UK ISP to block access to The Pirate Bay.

"We do NOT encourage these actions. We believe in the open and free internets, where anyone can express their views. Even if we strongly disagree with them and even if they hate us," said TPB in response to the DDoS attack against Virgin.

"So don't fight them using their ugly methods. DDOS and blocks are both forms of censorship."

Right now, whoever is attacking The Pirate Bay has achieved what no copyright or governmental authority anywhere in the world has an almost complete disruption of the site's operations on a global basis with no court order required.

But despite the DDoS there are still ways for people to access the site. A handful of the proxies set up to circumvent the ISP blockades still appear to work and, when all else fails, the crazy methods still work too.