Swedish Supreme Court Refuses Appeal In Pirate Bay Case

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Swedish Supreme Court Refuses Appeal In Pirate Bay Case

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday February 1, 2012 @01:53AM from the end-of-the-line dept.

concertina226 writes with sad news for Swedish pirates. Quoting the article: "The Swedish Supreme Court will not hear an appeal from the founders of The Pirate Bay against prison sentences and fines imposed by the Swedish Court of Appeals, the court said on Wednesday. Over a year ago, the Court of Appeals sentenced Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde, and Carl Lundström to 10 months, eight months, and four months of jail time, respectively. The court also said they must collectively pay a 46 million kronor (£4.3 million) fine." The Pirate Bay has issued a response: "With this said, we hear news from our old admins that they have received a verdict in Sweden. Our 3 friends and blood brothers have been sentenced to prison. This might sound worse than it is. Since no one of them no longer lives in Sweden, they won't go to jail. They are as free today as they were yesterday."
Update: 02/01 15:15 GMT by U L :Reader think_nix helpfully copied the Pirate Bay response in a comment for those who cannot access the site.

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Or not? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 01:56 · Score: 5, Interesting

How are you as free today as yesterday if you can't enter a country or it's allies?
Staying out of Sweden maybe simple but that doesn't mean someone won't take you to Sweden.
That wont stop an arrest warrent going out... by FriendlyLurker · 2012-02-01 01:58 · Score: 2

Caught in the web that is drawing other threats to the status quo into the Swedish "justice" system.
1. Re:That wont stop an arrest warrent going out... by Yaotzin · 2012-02-01 03:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Swede here. It's a matter of perspective I guess. The chaplain's largest complaint seems to be isolation, which is pretty bad. On the other side, the cells are pretty comfortable, looking almost like a small hotel room. You get your own bed, tv, desk. Computers are allowed and in some cases video games. Also, prison rape is virtually unheard of.
  
  --
  Error: No error occurred
2. Re:That wont stop an arrest warrent going out... by russotto · 2012-02-01 18:28 · Score: 2
  
  Really? That's pretty nice. I always wondered why the U.S. would turn such a blind eye to such treatment in our prisons. Such inaction seems to clearly violate 8th amendment rights. But what do I know. :/
  Prison rape is tolerated because it keeps the population in line. A person might be willing to stand on his principles and risk a prison sentence, and the government can't have that. So instead they make the consequences so terrible that people will agree to anything to avoid prison.
Not living in Sweden by bernywork · 2012-02-01 02:00 · Score: 5, Informative

Pretty shit not being able to go home though.
I guess they could probably go in and out fine (EU passport will mean that unless they are on a watch list in the country they are going to they probably won't get caught) but if they get stopped by Police when there and checked then they will have to serve their time.

--
Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
1. Re:Not living in Sweden by elrous0 · 2012-02-01 02:10 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  What's even worse is that there aren't many places they can go where they can ever be safe. U.S./Hollywood power pretty much owns every government and legal system in the world. There are only a few countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, etc. that would stand up to that power, and they all have issues of their own.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
2. Re:Not living in Sweden by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 02:10 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Does it actually work like that? For me, being convicted of a crime resulting in jail time, would warrant being on a watch list. Isn't passport numbers verified against something when you pass a border in many cases (at least when flying)?
3. Re:Not living in Sweden by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 02:23 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Within the EU you do not need to show a passport when flying, you do need an approved picture ID however. If you are on a watchlist you are likely to end up being caught on arrival since they cross-check passenger manifest.
  Being caugt traveling by car, train or boat is unlikely, since customs only check vehicles randomly for restricted goods or if they know a certain vehicle will carry something illegal, like a sentenced man who has not checked in to his 3 star hotel.
4. Re:Not living in Sweden by elrous0 · 2012-02-01 02:34 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  More like nightmares. And if you think that power isn't real, just ask the guys from Megaupload--or Julian Assange, or Gary McKinnon.
  
  --
  SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
5. Re:Not living in Sweden by lightknight · 2012-02-01 03:10 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, and your point is? The technology industry is why the entertainment industry is even as strong as it is today.
  Take away their cameras, their lighting, their ability to reproduce their films a thousand times with very little if no degradation, and the maximum audience size for a performance is at most around a thousand (as many as you can pack in a large theater for a single night). If the MPAA is so desperate to put their collective heads in front of that cannon, by all means, let them -> we can make pretend that technology doesn't work for a week, and see how much money they hemorrhage. No TV broadcasts, no radio, no internet, no electric lighting...
  
  --
  I am John Hurt.
6. Re:Not living in Sweden by Nidi62 · 2012-02-01 03:12 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  india?? they're the US's bitch, too!
  No, they are not. Here is some evidence to counter your claims: The US's biggest ally in the region is Pakistan, who, coincidentally, is India's arch rival, and has been since the Partition in 1948(or was it 47, can't really remember); India either develops it's own weapon systems or purchases them from Russia, who happen to be the US's biggest rival in the geo-political and arms trade spheres; India went against the Non-proliferation Treaty and has nuclear weapons. Just because India doesn't openly antagonize the US like Iran, China, NK, or even Pakistan do, or that many US companies have call centers there does not mean that they are the US's "bitch".
  
  --
  The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
7. Re:Not living in Sweden by Xest · 2012-02-01 03:41 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I think his point was in the "every country" bit.
  Those who have been extradited have made the mistake of going to nations that are either loyal to the US, or puppets of the US. The only Western nation where you might get away with it is Switzerland - it worked for Polanski just about, despite massive US pressure.
  It's unlikely the US would get a succesful extradition from a few of the South American nations, Russia, or perhaps even China or India, and frankly if you have money, which it's likely the TPB guys do, then you can still live a pretty damn nice life in these places.
  The key is to avoid North America, European nations, Commonwealth nations, and states that defend on US money and weapons for defence like Saudi Arabia and South Korea. As I say - that still leaves much of South America, some of Africa, and some of the biggest nations and ex-soviet states, where again, with a bit of Western money you can still live at least as comfortably as you would in the West.
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by indre1 · 2012-02-01 02:01 · Score: 2

So now every small copyright infringement will lead to detainment until the decision has been reached as pirates are "highly more likely to flee the country"? Or at least the record labels would like to see it that way...
What about Google and Youtube? by Trracer · 2012-02-01 02:08 · Score: 5, Insightful

This will basically be precedent for this type of case (in Sweden). So I guess Google, Youtube etc etc can fall under being an accessory to copyright violation?
Excuse any spelling/English errors, non-native here.

--
English is not my first language, so cut me some slack -: Om du kan lasa det har sa kan du Svenska :-
1. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 02:21 · Score: 2
  
  Well, one thing Google has that TPB doesn't is lobbyist dollars.
2. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by CrimsonAvenger · 2012-02-01 02:23 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Excuse any spelling/English errors, non-native here.
  Didn't see any spelling/English errors, actually.
  That particular problem seems to be more common for Americans than for non-native speakers...
  
  --
  
  "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
3. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Lunix+Nutcase · 2012-02-01 02:25 · Score: 2
  
  So I guess Google, Youtube etc etc can fall under being an accessory to copyright violation?
  Sure, if they flagrantly violate the law and do nothing when they are told about infringing material being uploaded to Youtube. Except that Youtube takes down infringing material when notified about it and thus, no, they aren't doing the same thing as the Pirate Bay.
4. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 02:34 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Unless MAFIAA can claim copyright on the torrent files (possibly through claiming that a checksum of the original data is a derived work, but I think that's a stretch and would open a wholly different can of worms), then there has never been any infringing material for TPB and other torrent sites to take down. Remember, the only the torrent files can be gotten from TPB, the files that they point to cannot.
  In fact, TPB is probably infringing less than Youtube, since when Youtube contains infringing material it actually hosts that data.
  Maybe a more apt comparison would be Google, Bing, etc.
5. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Trracer · 2012-02-01 02:36 · Score: 2
  
  So I guess Google, Youtube etc etc can fall under being an accessory to copyright violation?
  Sure, if they flagrantly violate the law and do nothing when they are told about infringing material being uploaded to Youtube. Except that Youtube takes down infringing material when notified about it and thus, no, they aren't doing the same thing as the Pirate Bay.
  Alright, I can buy that for Youtube since it's actual content being uploaded that they remove.
  But how about Google search? TPB just serves the torrent file which is basically pointing to the file you want to download (and thus becoming an accessory to copyright violation), same as Googles search index. Neither hold any content...
  
  --
  English is not my first language, so cut me some slack -: Om du kan lasa det har sa kan du Svenska :-
6. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by brainzach · 2012-02-01 02:37 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Google and Youtube respond to DMCA request. They follow the laws and can easily claim plausible deniability.
  Pirate Bay never took down any content due to copyright violations and boasts about it. There is no comparison.
7. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by ScentCone · 2012-02-01 02:38 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  So I guess Google, Youtube etc etc can fall under being an accessory to copyright violation?
  Other than for the sake of trolling and FUD-spreading, why would you conclude that? The two cases couldn't be more distinct. TPB flagrantly promotes the ripping off of people's works, and operations like YouTube have entire staffs dedicated to rapidly investigating and dealing with reports of abuse.
  
  --
  Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
8. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Kjella · 2012-02-01 02:53 · Score: 2
  
  The possibility is being discussed in Swedish media (via google translate), in fact they specifically mention Google and YouTube. There's nothing specific in the ruling that clearly says that they wouldn't be liable, basically it seems to criminalize all sites that make copyright infringement easier and faster. The wording is very broad and vague, maybe they didn't see anything worth reviewing with regards to TPB but they certainly didn't make things clear on where illegal services end and legal services begin, or even what separates them.
  
  --
  Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
9. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Trracer · 2012-02-01 02:58 · Score: 2
  
  Google and Youtube respond to DMCA request. They follow the laws and can easily claim plausible deniability.
  Pirate Bay never took down any content due to copyright violations and boasts about it. There is no comparison.
  DMCA isn't valid in Sweden, where TPB was hosted. IANAswedishL but the reason why TPB "lived" so long in Sweden is because there were no legal hindrances at the time. The point is still, they did not host any content, no content passed TPB servers.
  
  --
  English is not my first language, so cut me some slack -: Om du kan lasa det har sa kan du Svenska :-
10. Re:What about Google and Youtube? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 03:45 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  they used the legal loophole which made the court invent the crime of "assisting copyright infringement". Before this case the general understandning was that if any infringement occured it was because someone made something (which they had no rights to) avaible to others. eg, me hosting an ftp server with "Captain America the first avenger" on my computer and telling you how to log in - that would have been illegal. However, me telling you of a server not operated by me (essentially what a .torrent file does, execpt it doesn't use ftp etc.) or even giving you a http link would not have constituted criminal copyright infringment *against me*. Only ones who'd be investigated would be the person(s) uploading the infringing material and the persons downloading it.
  The piratebay case changed that to make it possible to prosecute me under the second scenario for assissting in the infringement. Which is why some of us are worried that when rights holders turn out to be unable to identify downloaders they'll turn to have ISP:s held accountable - after all, they are assisting by providing the bandwith (which to my understanding is exactly the reason why one of the "piratebay guys" was implicated for).
Re:Very dissapointing by NEDHead · 2012-02-01 02:22 · Score: 2

Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, Paul? Not what I would call a choice. It is a lot like playing Russian roulette with a loaded machine gun.
WTF ? by BlueParrot · 2012-02-01 02:23 · Score: 5, Insightful

The supreme court in Sweden is supposed to hear important test cases and cases where there is presently ambiguity in law. As encouraging copyright infringement has never before been tested in court, refusing to hear this case just shows how little spine our justice system has.
I can't see the blog. It's blacklisted! by ciaran_o_riordan · 2012-02-01 02:26 · Score: 5, Interesting

I've never been affected first-hand by government censorship of websites, but when I clicked on the piratebay.se link to read his blog entry, I just got:

The access to this website is blocked in conformity with a decision of the Antwerp Court of Appeal dated 26 September 2011.

For any additional information, you can contact the Belgian Anti-piracy Federation (BAF), at Almaplein 3 P.O. Box 10, 1200 Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe - http://www.anti-piracy.be/en/.

I'm currently in Belgium.

--
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
Re:Very dissapointing by Skarecrow77 · 2012-02-01 02:40 · Score: 5, Funny

yes, it does suck, but the alternative could also be like our friends north of the border, where there's something like 4 liberal parties and 1 conservative party so the 1 conservative party gets all the conservative votes, which puts them in power even though they're technically a minority, and they then proceed to enact a bunch of shit legislation like banning mp3s and dvrs.
or at least, that's what the facebook status of my canadian friends tell me.
I've long been a proponent of just abolishing the two political parties we've got here, and having a 7-way draft. we can separate along more logical distinctions.
We can have:
The tree-hugging hippie party
The financial, corporate, and industry party
The religious extremist (pardon me, I mean evangelical) party
The backwoods-montana survival-oriented libertarian party
The inner-city violence and drugs party
The suburbia party
The illuminati
Every one of those hates every other, and nothing would ever get done since any coalition would dissolve within days. From where I sit, that'd be a better situation than the one we're in now.
Re:I can't see the blog. It's blacklisted! by think_nix · 2012-02-01 02:44 · Score: 5, Informative

I've never been affected first-hand by government censorship of websites, but when I clicked on the piratebay.se link to read his blog entry, I just got:
For those who are behind censored networks, here is original blos post from this taken from http://thepiratebay.se/blog/204

Year of the storm
2012 is the year of the storm.
The Pirate Bay will reach an age of 9 years. Experiencing raids, espionage and death threats, we're still here. We've been through hell and back and it has made us tougher than ever.
The people running the site has changed during the years. No sane human being would put up with this kind of pressure for 8 years in a row. An insane hobby that takes time from our families, our work (sorry boss) and our studies.
What binds us all together is a strong belief that what we do is good. That it is something we one day can tell our grandchildren about with pride. People from all over the world confirm this. We read testimonials from people in Syria longing for freedom, thanking us for what we provide. We receive more than 100 visits daily from North Korea and we sure know that they need it. If there's something that will bring peace to this world it is the understanding and appreciation of your fellow man. What better way to do that than with this vast library of culture?
With this said, we hear news from our old admins that they have received a verdict in Sweden. Our 3 friends and blood brothers have been sentenced to prison. This might sound worse than it is. Since no one of them no longer lives in Sweden, they won't go to jail. They are as free today as they were yesterday.
But what enrages us to our inner core is that the system, the empire, the governments, are still allowed to try to boss you and us around with one law crazier than the other. Do you think they will stop with SOPA/ACTA/PIPA? They will not. Because you won't stop sharing those files. Because we will not stay down. Because no one can turn back time. Together, we are the iron that hardens with each strike.
In this year of the storm, the winners will build windmills and the losers will raise shelters. So flex your muscles, fellow pirates, and give power to us all! Build more sites! More nets! More protocols! Scream louder than ever and take it to the next level!
Posted Today 09:11 by The Pirate Bay
Best regards,
The 'free' internet
Re:I can't see the blog. It's blacklisted! by GaryOlson · 2012-02-01 02:47 · Score: 2

Cached copy for all the unfortunates.

Although your post is informative on the state of Belgium government idiocy, a little effort on your part is suggested. If you don't know how to search for cached copies of web pages, perhaps you should turn in your /. account.

--
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by lightknight · 2012-02-01 03:00 · Score: 4, Insightful

*shrugs*
They could just do something similar to what the movie industry pulled a long time ago (in order to nerf Edison's patents): move someplace where their actions are not illegal. Let's be honest, whichever country ends up with that many pirates (programmers, etc.) is going to bank. And not just a little, as these people tend to be some of the more skilled in the industry (they will make it rain). Fortunately, the vast majority of countries are not joining in (just yet) on this global witch-hunt, so such measures are (for now) unnecessary. However, if and when it should happen, I project that the countries involved in said persecutions will experience a brain drain that will set them back only a century or so.

--
I am John Hurt.
Re:I can't see the blog. It's blacklisted! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 03:04 · Score: 2, Informative

surf to http://depiraatbaai.be (dutch for the pirate bay)
There is a DNS/Domain name block in effect with some providers in Belgium due to a court order
It is basically ineffective if you use openDNS/googleDNS servers
Re:Triple negative by VortexCortex · 2012-02-01 03:05 · Score: 2

Since no one of them no longer lives in Sweden, they won't go to jail.
I'm so confused, I think they're saying that because they don't not no longer live in Sweden, they won't not be going to jail?
My head hurts :(
Minor correction: They're not trying to say they won't go to jail if they no longer don't live in Sweden.
Re:Very dissapointing by NatasRevol · 2012-02-01 03:16 · Score: 2

"And voting for a third party candidate is like throwing your vote away."
And will be until enough people change their attitude and actually do just that.

--
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Re:Very dissapointing by Nadaka · 2012-02-01 03:20 · Score: 3, Insightful

And while Obama is not campaigning for the role of anti-Christ nearly as hard as any of the republican contenders, he isn't exactly a friend of liberty and sane copyright law either.
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by dave420 · 2012-02-01 03:30 · Score: 4, Informative

You: Overreacting greatly.
Canadian party system (was:Very dissapointing) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-02-01 03:34 · Score: 3, Insightful
We used to have four parties, equally spaced:
- New Democrats on the left
- Liberals in the left center (roughly equivalent to the Democrats)
- Progressive Conservatives in the right center (ditto the Republicans)
- Reform on the right
Reform did an "unfriendly takeover" of the PCs (full disclosure: I was a PC at the time), with the slogan "unite the right"
They then renamed the party to just "Conservative" and retained enough members to be able to defeat the NDP and Liberals, who were still splitting the center and left between themselves.
Now it's skewed, and the parties don't line up with the U.S. parties, even approximately... Liberals seem to be the centrists, NDP has become the left-moving-towards-the-center and Conservatives are moving back right to align with the old Reform position.
I seem to be living in exciting times (;-))
--dave
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by MadTinfoilHatter · 2012-02-01 03:36 · Score: 5, Insightful

They could just do something similar to what the movie industry pulled a long time ago (in order to nerf Edison's patents): move someplace where their actions are not illegal.
They did. They performed all their actions in Sweden where their actions were not illegal. This is also why there for a long time were no action taken against TPB, despite the site being far from unknown to the prosecutors of that country. Then after a few years the MAFIAA started pressing for US politicians to do something about this. They in turn put pressure on Swedish politicians (behind the scenes, since in Swden it's illegal for the politicians to tell the prosecutors what to do). Suddenly their servers are confiscated and they're put into a courtroom before a judge who conveniently happens to have close ties to the Swedish MAFIAA-equivalent...
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by PopeRatzo · 2012-02-01 03:42 · Score: 2, Insightful

No longer free, now an entirely owned and operated subsidiary of the USA and their MafiAA overlords.
Besides being a little bit over the top, it's also fundamentally incorrect.
The USA and Sweden are owned by the same conglomerate. "Crime family" is such a nasty phrase, don't you think?
La Cosa Nostra is kicking themselves for not thinking of the term "job creators" to describe themselves.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
Re:Very dissapointing by groslyunderpaid · 2012-02-01 03:51 · Score: 2

And voting for a third party candidate is like throwing your vote away.
I believe that is a fallacy, otherwise anytime you vote for any candidate that doesn't win, you are just throwing your vote away,
The awkward bit is that everyone KNOWS... by couchslug · 2012-02-01 04:16 · Score: 2

...that the purpose of sites like PB is purely to spread content without paying the producers. There are some tiny percentage of legal files more by accident than intent. They don't affect the business model.
What such sites do is help "chum the market" with content people should not want in the first place.
Want to fight the power? Don't run free Windows either or avoid it as much as possible. Ditto all other shit corporate content.
Free crack is still crack.

--
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Re:Very dissapointing by ifiwereasculptor · 2012-02-01 04:33 · Score: 2

And voting for a third party candidate is like throwing your vote away.
It never ceases to amaze me how you guys haven't figured this out yet. We have a very simple system in place, here: if no one got more than 50% of the total votes, the election enters a second stage, with just the "winner" and the runner-up. It's not perfect, but it's quite functional. You can vote for whoever you want, then if your candidate didn't even come close to winning, you can pick the one you dislike less. That way no one fears "wasting" their votes.
I know the ones in power don't really want more competition to be viable, but it's something the populace really should be pushing and news never got to me about anyone from up there voicing such a proposal.
Re:Very dissapointing by houghi · 2012-02-01 04:38 · Score: 2

I live in Belgium and we have the word record in government formation. I still prefere it to have a 7-way draft (Actually much more then that. 7 parties where invited to the table, some were not)
That way I can vote pro-gun and pro-gay mariage and pro-abortion (or any anti or combination) if so much desire.

--
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Re:Very dissapointing by 91degrees · 2012-02-01 10:40 · Score: 2

Voting for a third part isn't totally useless. It's a little indirect, but the mere fact that some people will vote for a third party means that there's an incentive for the other candidates to adopt some of their policies in order to get some of those votes.

So it's basically a threat. One that only works if you can show you're willing to carry it out.
Re:Hilarious, in a sad way. by xenobyte · 2012-02-01 21:27 · Score: 2

That sounds like a complete Kangaroo Court. Some high-up politicians must have been paid off for this.
They were. The Swedish attorney general was treated to a 14-day all-expenses-paid 'study-tour' to the US, paid for by... the MAFIAA. This was less than a week before the highly illegal raid was performed.
It was illegal because the attorney general signed the search warrant herself, which she could because she was also a judge (not active during her tenure as attorney general but still formally a judge). But this was a violation of the constitution (as it would be in most civilized countries) because you can't be both law giving (executive) and law interpreting (judiciary) according to the separation of powers and if it wasn't for a change in government following an election, it would likely have resulted in the forced termination of the attorney general.
Besides, the raid violated the warrant itself as it only covered servers affiliated with The Pirate Bay but hundreds of totally unrelated servers was also seized.
Last (but not least), it is important to know that NOTHING was found on the servers seized. No kiddie porn, no wares, no infringing files.

--
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --