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Pirate Bay Co-Founder Must Pay Record Labels $395,000 (torrentfreak.com)

Posted by msmash on from the payback-time dept.

Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde has run into another setback. The Helsinki District Court has ordered him to pay $395,000 to record labels including Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI, after the music of 60 of their artists has been shared illegally through The Pirate Bay. From a TorrentFreak report:Sunde did not appear in Helsinki to defend himself so the Court handed down a default judgment. He is now ordered to pay the full amount plus costs of around $62,000 (55,000 euros) to the local branch of IFPI. He also faces a fine of one million euros if the content continues to be shared via The Pirate Bay but how he is supposed to do anything about that isn't clear. Sunde and Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm owe large sums of money to copyright holders following adverse decisions in cases dating back years. None of those judgments have been satisfied and there's no reason to believe this one will be any different.

5 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. In other news, by jenningsthecat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the Federal government, along with some State governments, (most notably Florida's), has announced that distributors and sellers of firearms will henceforth be both civilly and criminally liable for injuries and deaths caused by guns and ammunition they have sold. Oh, wait...

    An individual can be hounded and sued into oblivion for providing a platform which others use to distribute copies of music and videos. Yet gun makers and sellers are held harmless, and continue to profit, while the products they sell result in illegal deaths on a more-than-hourly basis. So basically, the profits of music companies and movie studios are more important, in the eyes of the law, than the lives of average people. What a fucked up set of priorities in a thoroughly obscene legal system.

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    1. Re:In other news, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I keep trying to make this point with cars and no one listens, its about time we held car manufactures and dealerships responsible for people driving irresponsibly and killing other motorists!

    2. Re:In other news, by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It was a default judgement because he didn't attend court, and it's obviously unenforceable. It includes a requirement for him to prevent further infringement, even though he doesn't run the site or have anything to do with it any more. And he certainly doesn't have the money and there is no way for the music industry to collect it.

      They are basically wasting their money and and the court's time, and meanwhile The Pirate Bay is going as strong as ever.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Re:Copyright terms are immoral by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    renewal fees make them vary low for the first 20 years and then after that start jacking them up. So that Disney can keep the mouse as long as they are willing to pay for it. But joe bob's B movie that bombed is not locked up for 75+ years.

  3. Re:Fuck the recording industry! by harperska · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Most mature intelligent people are perfectly willing to pay for content as long as that content is high quality and convenient. It is only when content is degraded, restricted, or encumbered (or simply not even available) that most people turn to file sharing. Once content is made available in an unencumbered, reasonably priced digital download or streaming format, only political zealots and immature entitled jerks like the anonymous parent will insist on stealing it.