Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Entertainment


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published April 18, 2009 at 9:20 AM | Page modified April 18, 2009 at 9:21 AM

Comments (24)     E-mail E-mail article      Print Print view      Share Share

Sweden: hundreds protest Pirate Bay conviction

Wearing bandanas and waving Jolly Roger flags, hundreds of supporters of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay demonstrated on Saturday against a Swedish court's conviction of the Internet site's organizers.

Associated Press Writer

STOCKHOLM —

Wearing bandanas and waving Jolly Roger flags, hundreds of supporters of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay demonstrated on Saturday against a Swedish court's conviction of the Internet site's organizers.

The Stockholm district court on Friday sentenced Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom to one year in prison each for helping millions of Pirate Bay users commit copyright violations of movies, music and computer games.

The court also ordered them to pay 30 million kronor ($3.6 million) in damages to international entertainment companies, including Warner Bros., Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Columbia Pictures.

The entertainment industry applauded the move, calling it a landmark decision protecting the rights of those whose livelihood depend on creative activity.

All four defendants have vowed to appeal the verdict.

The rallies against "judicial murder" occurred in Stockholm, Goteborg, Karlstad and Lund and were organized by The Pirate Party. The political party, which supports free file-sharing for noncommercial use, said its membership rose by more than 20 percent to about 20,000 after the court announced its verdict.

Police spokeswoman Birgitta Nilsen said at least 500 mostly young people were protesting in Stockholm alone, many supporting the Pirate Bay defendants by wearing bandanas and carrying skull and crossbones flags.

The Pirate Party does not have any formal ties to The Pirate Bay, but has expressed its support of the site on several occasions.

Party Chairman and founder Rickard Falkvinge received loud cheers as he addressed the black-clad crowd at the Medborgarplatsen square in downtown Stockholm, demanding that the defendants to be freed from the charges.

"The establishment and the politicians have declared war against our whole generation," he said, calling on "file-sharing for the people."

The Pirate Bay doesn't host copyright-protected material, but directs users to content through so-called torrent files. It has an estimated 22 million users worldwide.

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

More Entertainment headlines...

E-mail E-mail article      Print Print view      Share Share

Comments (24)
Who is the entertainment industry's next target? Google? Yahoo!? Microsoft? They all operate highly-sophisticated search engines that help you...  Posted on April 17, 2009 at 8:53 AM by daihard. Jump to comment
QUOTE: "Who is the entertainment industry's next target? Google? Yahoo!? Microsoft?' My guess would be the public library - I...  Posted on April 17, 2009 at 10:45 AM by Spamalator. Jump to comment
John Kennedy, chief corporate mucky-muck is mistaken. Then music and recording industry does not "make a living FROM creative...  Posted on April 17, 2009 at 1:15 PM by TimesReader13. Jump to comment

advertising


Get home delivery today!

More Entertainment

SuttonBeresCuller: Big thinkers turn their attention to smaller-scale artworks

Book review: "Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life:" Fearless, funny and opinionated

Book review: 'Changing My Mind': Zadie Smith ponders the mad, mad world

'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.

Rant & Rave

Advertising

Video

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake fans celebrate
LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman
MLS trophy arrives in Seattle
Chittenden Locks Inspection
Interview with New Moon actors
Full interview with New Moon actors
Artistic Roller Skating
Girls Soccer: Mercer Island vs. Glacier Peak

Marketplace

nwautos

2009's most fuel-efficient sedansnew
Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising