Anti-Piracy Lobby Urges Sweden To Take Down The Pirate Bay
Several anti-piracy lobbyist organizations have joined forces in urging the Swedish authorities to take “swift and decisive action” against The Pirate Bay. The Pirate Bay laughed away this attempt, and assures its users that they are not doing anything illegal according to Swedish law.
Unlike less democratic countries, Sweden is not too keen on lobbyists who try to manipulate the actions of their government, something the MPAA did last year. Directly influencing Swedish authorities to intervene in this specific case, is considered illegal in Sweden (the term is “minister rule”).
The letter is signed by several copyright protection organizations, and was sent to the Swedish minister of communications. Noticeably upset they write: “We believe that, given the Pirate Bay’s cult popularity, this is a key opportunity for one country to educate the global internet community about the need for respect of copyright and the importance of intellectual property.”
Brokep from The Pirate Bay responded to this letter on his blog writing:”They seem to think that TPB is actually illegal and are very concerned about this! But I can reassure you, the site is not illegal so there’s no reason to be alarmed. It’s recognized worldwide as legal and helpful for the normal people around the globe that have something to share with each other. And we all do want to share!”
One of the people who signed the letter to the Swedish government is John Kennedy, Chairman of the IFPI. The IFPI is also fighting with The Pirate Bay over the IFPI.com domain name which the IFPI forgot to renew – and there’s more. Last month we revealed a leaked email where the IFPI planned to request confidential information from the Swedish police on an ongoing investigation into The Pirate Bay.
Update: CGB Spender wrote a letter people can send to the Swedish minister of communications to show their support for The Pirate Bay.
