A high profile trial begun earlier today in Stockholm, as the four men responsible for running the popular file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay were called in under numerous copyright accusations. The trial is expected to bring some light on the matter and set the boundaries for what can be considered acceptable or illegal file sharing.
The four defendants are accused of breaking several Swedish copyright laws, as they have been allowing Internet users to download a massive amount of materials, including movies, computer games and music – all illegally shared.
Three of the defendants, Peter Sunde (30 years old), Gottfrid Svartholm Warg (28) and Fredrik Neij (30) are the Web site’s administrators, while the fourth, Carl Lundstorm (48) is the financer. Each one faces up to two years in prison if convicted, in addition to the 120 million kronor ($14.3 million) demanded for compensation and damages by the companies and artists affected by their service.
The reason why the four claim that they have done nothing illegal and also why the matter will demand considerable attention is that the Web site does not host any copyrighted content, redirecting its users to their wanted movie, music or game files with the help of the so-called torrents.
Another important aspect is the service’s user base, which has been estimated at more than 22 million. Small file sharing pages might have a chance to be overlooked, but when more than 20 million Internet users log on and share numerous files without any consideration for copyright issues, sooner or later, someone is going to demand some explanations.
Still, the four are certain that the law is on their side. "They have already failed to take down the site once. Let them fail again," said Svartholm Warg during the news conference.
The matter is unlikely to be resolved any time soon, as there is a significant amount of information and evidence that will demand attention. The case was built up on witness testimonies, e-mails between the four men and also invoices sent to advertisers. The list of plaintiffs in the case includes MGM Pictures Inc., 20th Century Fox Films Co., Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Colombia Pictures Industries Inc. and Universal. They all claim that The Pirate Bay has been promoting copyright infringement ever since 2003 and over these past six years the company managed to gain millions in profits.
The case was filed in May 2006 and at the time, police raided 10 locations in central Sweden, seized several servers and other computer equipment, and temporarily shut down the Web site – this moment representing the authorities’ attempt mentioned by Svartholm Warg during the press conference.
As expected, there is a large number of supporters for the Web site and its services. Some of them gathered outside of the courtroom earlier today, waving flags with the company’s logo.
It is too soon to reach a conclusion, but over the next few months, if everything goes as scheduled, we should be presented with an official decision on The Pirate Bay’s future.
