Swedish Politicians Strike Blows at Copyright Lobby
Written by Ben Jones on January 10, 2008Last week, seven Swedish MPs wrote to a prominent Swedish tabloid newspaper ‘Expressen’ to express their dissatisfaction with proposals for dealing with copyright infringers. Now, that number has increased to 13, and the issue seems to keep growing.
Initially, Karl Sigfrid, and 6 other MPs [Members of Parliament] wrote to Expressen (Swedish, English) to express their opposition to a plan proposed by Cecilia Renfors, a copyright analyst appointed by the Swedish government, in what Expressen called “Seven MPs defy the party line: Legalizing file sharing is not just the best solution, but the only solution”. Her plan was that ISPs would close down the connections of filesharers, preventing them from participating in any further copyright infringement. The condemnation for this was broad-based, from the Data inspection Board, the Competition Authority, all the way to the Swedish court of Appeal.
The message from the Moderate Party MPs to their Antipiratbyrån supporting colleagues was “be careful, they will never be satisfied”, drawing parallels to the earlier attempts to ban MP3 players, and VCRs, both areas in which, having failed to ban, industry groups are now making a profit from selling content.
Karl Sigfrid told TorrentFreak that the APB proposals make no practical sense. “I think it could be solved in theory. However, in reality, you would need such a surveillance system to achieve this that it would be all out of proportion. So I don’t think there’s a feasilbe way of stopping individuals copying. The cause for file sharing is basically that it’s possible. People have always done it to the extent that they’ve been able to. With cassette tapes 20 years ago and electronically today. Copyright laws preventing individuals from sharing information have never been legitimate in the eyes of most people.”
When asked about if it was down to content industries being slow to change their business practices, he replied: “It’s hard to say what would have happened if the content industries had been quicker releasing their material online, before the P2P networks grew mainstream. Probably the illegal filesharing would be less extensive, but it’s possible that it would still have been increasingly difficult for iTunes and such services to compete with free downloading. The change needed might be so radical that it’s no longer about selling copies of immaterial products at all.”
Rickard Falkvinge, of the Swedish Pirate Party was understandably upbeat about it. “Karl Sigfrid’s taking a stand marks a major turning point. For the first time, an established politician shows deep-down understanding of the real conflict, instead of cluelessly humming along with a technophobical luddite industry. Some other Swedish mainstream politicians have previously talked in terms of how it’s unreasonable to declare war on an entire generation. Sigfrid is the first to understand why.” His enthusiasm is understandable as, one Swedish torrent user put it “a bunch of members of The Conservative Party have started listening to the policies of The Pirate Party, and they want to jump on their bandwagon, as it’s gaining popularity”.
Gaining popularity it is, as yesterday, thirteen members of Parliament joined in another attack (Swedish only, no English translation at present) on the likes of the APB, and recording industries, saying “The record labels are obviously opposed to a development that makes them obsolete.” However, not everyone has been celebrating. Pirate Bay administrator Brokep was skeptical, saying “I’m intrigued that the debate is sparking up again. There’s been a lot of lies from the politicians. Promises and nothing has happened, so at least this will put the debate back on the map.”
The initial seven MPs were Karl Sigfrid. Margareta Cederfelt. Ulf Berg. Lena Asplund. Staffan Appelros. Lisbeth Grönfeldt Bergman and Göran Montan. Tuesdays additions were Marie Weibull Kornias,Finn Bengtsson, Ann-Charlotte Hammar Johnsson, Sven Yngve Persson, and Anders Hansson.
**UPDATE** Sorry, forgot to add this translation of the second piece, available here
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128 Responses (Add yours or TrackBack)
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ROFLMAO. Sorry, but it’s not stealing.
Here’s where the law was stated: USSC Dowling v United States, 1985. Blackmun J: “(copyright infringement) does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud… The infringer invades a statutorily defined province guaranteed to the copyright holder alone. But he does not assume physical control over copyright; nor does he wholly deprive its owner of its use.”
… and it has not since changed, despite the frantic efforts of the RIAA/MPAA and their various trolls (ie, you) to conflate copyright infringement and stealing in the minds of the public.
Maybe you’d like to try for … hmm … “overtaking against the lane markers” or something. “Copyright is overtaking against the lane markers! You’re overtaking! See the double-yellow line? See? The law says there’s a double-yellow line there, and when you download a movie, you are overtaking!”
I am here to offer my help to humanity who are on the path to destruction
I am the the solution to world peace
I will bring world peace through love, co-operation, and understanding of the world we live in.
Bloody well get on with it then.
@100:
LOL.
Yeah, all those judgments being handed down against music thieves are just a figment of my imagination.
[quote comment="261049"]@100:
LOL.
Yeah, all those judgments being handed down against music thieves are just a figment of my imagination.[/quote]
What judgments?
Oh.. the paid arguments you mean?
Well.. we all know who the real thieves are don’t we.
Tell us what it’s like to have NPD.
LOL.
ROFLCOPTER. AFAIK. PBKAC. TLA.
Your ability to write “LOL” before every comment impresses no-one, douchebag. Come up with some new schtick.
Yeah, all those judgments being handed down against music thieves are just a figment of my imagination.
Judgements for what? Not stealing. Hell, not even for assault. OMGZORS, guess what? Those judgements aren’t for jaywalking either! Those people were only ever charged with, or sued for, infringement of copyright.
Which. Isn’t. Stealing.
hmmm, thinking you’re the one that decides what the definition of stealing is…
yeah, you’ve got NPD.
[quote comment="261068"]hmmm, thinking you’re the one that decides what the definition of stealing is…
yeah, you’ve got NPD.[/quote]
And who should decide the definition? You?
I think you have a serious mental issue. Seriously, to get so upset over this, you should talk to someone.
Come up with some name, “Anonymous”, otherwise I will have to assume that anything stupid people say is said by you.
The definitions of stealing, and copyright infringements, is decided by legislatures and courts. In different nations, at different times, these definitions have changed. The current US definition, by the US Supreme Court, of copyright infringement is quoted above.
I can’t imagine why any private individual might want unelected, unaccountable, money-grubbing corporations to decide social morality. The idea is ridiculous.
[quote comment="261075"]I can’t imagine why any private individual might want unelected, unaccountable, money-grubbing corporations to decide social morality. The idea is ridiculous.[/quote]
Problem is, no one cares what you think.
Millions of dollars have been lost from illegal downloading. The ISP fee is the remedy. Now stop whining, bitch.
Just have to stop feeding this troll until he talks to someone to help him.
Gotta feel sorry for him though really, to be so desperate.
Please talk to a professional, then come back into the community when you’re better.
Millions of dollars have been lost from illegal downloading.
Er, no. Not lost. Gained. You really don’t know any economics, do you, you dumbass troll? Anyone who uses the word “lost” in that context betrays themselves as a fuckwit, a stooge, or as in your case, both.
If I give a copy of a CD to a friend, my friend is up $20, that he will spend elsewhere in the economy. The record industry isn’t down $20, no-one is. If I was unable to give my friend the copy, he wouldn’t have bothered buying it. So now, he has a CD, and $20 worth of petrol or a shirt or whatever-the-fuck as well as the CD. He has gained.
I notice you’re still too dumb to figure out how to allocate yourself a name …
first, for that anonymous prick who has his/her tongue deep in the asses of the RIAA and alike: no one cares what YOU think! they only see some lifeless asshole bragging bullshit. they DO care about what ASH wrote as they are thinking the same.
second: file sharing is not stealing. it’s spreading of information, culture and knowledge.
if you say i’m a criminal then i will act like one and beat the shit out of you when i ever get a chance.
third: on the “making a living out of touring” topic: yes, music performers can make a living out of touring if they are good anf worth listening to. of course they should tour regularly not only once-twice a year. by us (hungary) the really good performers, bands do this and they do make a good living out of it. they don’t mind filesharing as it is the way they get new fans, who then go to concerts and buy merch. only the untalented, bad, “worthless” ones are bragging about filesharing, and of course the ones who are too lasy to tour and they expect a constant high-grade living from record sales (and they do have it, but they always want more and more and more…). britney spears and alike aren’t going to starve to death because of filesharing, they will only earn 10 milloin $-s instead of 15 million a year (or something like that). oh, how bad for them… :P
fourth: ever thought of people who can’t afford to buy records at those ridiculous prices? like a college student who, after paying the costs of education, barely can afford even food? or a 12-16 year old kid who gets about 5$ a week? these people hardly could by the records of their loved bands. and what about exploring new bands, music? imagine somebody gathering his little money for a month and then buying a CD wich turns out to be crap.
and that leads us to the fifth: without filesharing, you could hardly explore new bands. you would only listen to the ones on the radios’ top 40 or top 100 charts and that’s all. britney spears and madonna and alike for a lifetime… . this goes especially for people who have different tastes than the mainstream pop music. i’m one of them. without filesharing i wouldn’t even know the 90% of my loved bands because you CAN’T get them here. this goes even for a lot of well known bands. imagine how it is for some other more underground, not so mainstream performers (and i do listen to a lot of them)and music genres. not everybody wants to listen to pop, rap and disco. the fact is that in a lot of countries you can’t get non mainstream music from legal ways if the band/performer lives in an other country. the hungarian anti-piracy organisations are bragging about us filesharers, though we download stuff they haven’t even heard of (so they don’t even sell it). i simply CAN’T buy them. and even if i could, as i’m one of the above already mentioned poor students, i couldn’t pay the prices of the recordings, not to mention the shipping costs between countries, continents.
these are some very good reasons for letting people share files.
for the topic about monitoring internet activity and ban filesharers: that fucking bitch is nuts. somebody should kill her with a car-bomb as she is a threat to humanity. i pay for the isp-s for internet acces. without restrictions, without monitoring. i have a right to privacy, and that goes for my internet activity to. as police can’t come and search through my house without evidence and court order, nobody should monitor my activity on the net for the same reasons. nor the police, nor some other authority, and especially not some wanna-be-god, self proclaimed “copiright defender”, profit hunting organisations made up from a bunch of worthless wanna-be-god assholes who couldn’t find themself a real job, so they decided to suck other peoples blood.
they want to take away our rights and freedom and turn the world in to a police state in order to suck the blood of musicians and their fans. they think that they are somekind of ubermensch , that they can push around governments and change laws. they think they can tell the rest (99,99%) of the world what to do and what not. such people should die. or at least get a good beating a few times.
if they ever manage to take away my rights and my freedom i will place a huge bomb in their building and blow it up when the most of them are inside. then i will grab a rifle, track down and execute the rest of them.
it is our right to share files for non commercial purpose. better said: it is our DUTY to spread culture and knowledge and to fight for our rights.
and for that above mentioned anonymous prick: i would love to have 10 minutes alone with you in a room, without any questions.
Hey Ash (re #100),
I find it amusing that you cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision to disprove an obvious troll. That’s like killing a spider with a shotgun! ;) Seriously, great work.
To the troll: stick around, you’re fun. A lot of people actually think the flatrate system is a good idea, and your posting has elicited a number of solid reasons why not. Sometimes it helps to have someone who brings out these answers.
wow, you don’t get it, do you? NOBODY CARES what you think about the upcoming ISP fees! NOBODY. You’re a scourge of society, like the nutjob threatening people with bombs.
The ISP fee is going to work, and very easily. Bands will be paid based on how many times their songs or albums are downloaded. The playing field will be leveled; bands will get paid whether they’re on a major label or an independent artist.
[quote comment="261203"]wow, you don’t get it, do you? NOBODY CARES what you think about the upcoming ISP fees! NOBODY. You’re a scourge of society, like the nutjob threatening people with bombs.
The ISP fee is going to work, and very easily. Bands will be paid based on how many times their songs or albums are downloaded. The playing field will be leveled; bands will get paid whether they’re on a major label or an independent artist.[/quote]
Dude.. You still didn’t answer my question..
What about Authors?
I’m writing a book, and I want all isp’s to give me money too. So i can sit back and do nothing but count the money, like the RIAA.
How can I get into this tax, or is this so called music fee only for the elite few?
I’m going to name you, anonymous troll, since you still have not named yourself. I dub you Quisling. (As per World War Z, not WW2. You’re nobody’s national leader.)
wow, you don’t get it, do you? NOBODY CARES what you think about the upcoming ISP fees! NOBODY.
But you apparently care, Quisling. You’re very invested, it seems, in having us watch you gloating and giggling to yourself and rubbing your little hands together with glee. You want to demonstrate some kind of superior understanding or morality or something over us, little Quisling. I detect that eagerness in you.
What do you want, Quisling? Why are you gleefully, if prematurely, celebrating the prospect of the public (that include you) getting a worse deal? Have you let yourself imagine that you’re not like us, one of the public?
Tell us, Quisling. We’re all so very curious about you now, you frothing little tool. Tell us what your interest in this matter is, Quisling. I wonder what a pro-RIAA member of the public might be like. Podunk RIAA under-lawyer? Coke-head music industry promotional shill? Garage-dwelling emo band boy? Freeper/slashdotter, Ron Paul-bot?
What’s your beef, Quisling? Why are you here?
nah, I just troll here to kill time and torment the stupid.
It’s really very easy, as all of you have proved.
And since I’m unemployed and have so much time on my hands, I thought i’d just be silly.
Sorry, but I can’t help it sometimes.
I think someone is mentaly ill..
Sad to see a potentially great discussion topic get ruined by some idiot..
the troll isnt even good at it…
Please, be more polite!
I read this topic to see arguments and not to read about thinking someones mental deseases.
@112 is very interesting.
This is a very good view, the problem is, people in Europe (Euopean Community) got a real great portion of not to be free: if you are using the internet, ALL YOUR ACTIVITIES will be recorded and stored at leas for 6 months.
So, again, for better understanding: AT LEAST FOR 6 MONTHS.
That’s 13 MP’s from the “corporate greed is our livelyhood” party.
The majority of Swedens population vote for the Social Democrats each and every election. You’ll see that number increasing once the left has power again.
[quote comment="261312"]nah, I just troll here to kill time and torment the stupid.
It’s really very easy, as all of you have proved.[/quote]
*facepalms* look you idiot you obviously don’t understand the future of file-sharing like the general public does. obviously you have the intelligence of a gnat if you honestly think what the RIAA and the MPAA are doing the right thing. I’ll give you something to chew on. Sony BMG one of the biggest names in the industry. the LAST ONE to hold out on putting their music up for sale on Amazon and getting rid of the Digital Rights Management. if you read all of the studies they show that COMPACT DISK SALES ARE DOWN! NOT DIGITAL MEDIA!
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