April 20th, 2009
PirateBay verdict fueling youth interest in EU elections
The PirateBay has officially filed an appeal of its co-founders’ conviction in a Swedish court for copyright violations, The Register reports. The case now goes to the Swedish court of appeals.
Paul McCartney thinks the verdict was “fair,” by the way.
If you get on a bus you’ve got to pay. And I think it’s fair, you should pay your ticket.
On the TPB blog, cofounders Peter Sunde, Carl Lundström, Frederik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg called on fans to engage in a form of civil disobedience by expanding torrent-sharing activities — but not to send money.
* Continue to build the internets! Start more bittorrent sites, blog more, start your own lobby group, create, remix, mash up and continue to grow more heads on this amazing hydra that we know as the internets!
* Do not be afraid of using the network. Invite your friends to this and other file sharing systems. Calm people down if they’re upset. We need to stay united.
The blog also asks for European users to support the Swedish Pirate Party in upcoming EU elections on June 7. The Register reported that Party membership shot up 20 percent to 20,000 people following the verdict on Friday.
EU Observer interviewed party leader Richard Falkvinge:
The group’s electoral platform is based on three principles: to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens’ rights to privacy are respected.
“Not only do we think these are worthwhile goals. We also believe they are realistically achievable on a European basis. The sentiments that led to the formation of the Pirate Party in Sweden are present throughout Europe,” reads a http://www.piratpartiet.se/international/english">party declaration.
And Pirate politics is not just happening in Sweden. There are branches in Germany, Spain, Finland, Poland, Austria, Belgium and France.
“It’s not realistic to hope for our own all-pirates political group in the European Parliament this year, but definitely for 2014,” Falkvinge said.
