In Sweden, Pirate Bay Verdict Feeds Populist Movement

Copyright law may seem an unlikely political rallying point, yet some analysts say that, like environmental activism, it has the potential to launch a grassroots movement.

The April 17 decision by a Swedish court to jail the four founders of the popular file-sharing Web site The Pirate Bay and to fine them $3.6 million for copyright infringement has had a galvanizing effect, especially among young people, sparking demonstrations across Sweden and attracting sympathizers around the world.

That's despite the characterization by lawyer Peter Danowsky that the decision essentially equated the defendants' activities with organized crime.

"Pirate Bay's entire operation is aimed at depriving the rights holders of their rights and their compensation for its own benefit," says Danowsky, of Stockholm's Danowsky & Partners, who represented plaintiffs in the case led by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

But Pirate Bay supporters say the ruling is a direct assault on their personal freedom and online privacy, and have turned their anger into political activism. Within two days of the April 17 decision, 9,000 new members -- almost double the previous membership -- had registered with Sweden's three-year-old Pirate party, which will be a player in June's European parliamentary elections with a platform that promotes copyright and patent reform. By April 22, membership had rocketed to 37,000, making the party the nation's fourth-largest.

The party -- inspired by, but not affiliated with, The Pirate Bay -- is fielding a slate of 20 candidates for the 18 Swedish seats in the European Parliament. A German Pirate party with similar aims will field ten EU candidates. Since EU election turnout is historically low, a strong turnout by Pirate party supporters could have the effect of turning the parliament into an ideological battleground.

Swedish party founder Rick Falkvinge contends that sentencing the Pirate Bay defendants to a year each in jail was out of all proportion to their "crime." He argues that individual rights are given less weight by policy makers when they relate to online activities as opposed to those undertaken in the "real" world. In Falkvinge's view, corporate surveillance of an individual's online activities to detect copyright violations ignores privacy rights and invades personal freedoms in a way that is not tolerated if it is aimed at a person's physical movements -- and explains the growing public opposition to it.

"We don't disagree with some of the fundamental principles of copyright or that it can be a valid incentive for creative activity. But it is not okay when a commercial monopoly dresses itself in police clothing and comes to your bedroom door," he says. "Copyright needs to be reformed so it does not conflict with civil liberties."

At 50, Christian Engström, who heads the Swedish party's slate of EU candidates, doesn't fit the youthful stereotype of a copyright activist. But he strongly advocates the party position that copyright law should apply to commercial activities only, and that peer-to-peer file sharing, remixing or sampling should not be restricted in any way. He also supports limiting the length of copyright to five years and to the original work only, though he agrees that some derivative works, such as a translated version of a book, should be protected.

As for what artists and authors are entitled to, Engström says that the creators have a "moral right" to be associated with their work, but no right to reimbursement beyond the length of the copyright term.

If elected, Engström will have his work cut out for him. The EU Parliament voted in April to extend the term of copyright protection for recorded performances from 50 to 70 years, the same as the normal term in the United States. The European Commission also launched a European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy to improve cooperation between countries in data collection, enforcement, and use of private-sector strategies. At the same time, the parliament overwhelmingly adopted a rambling and vague report on strengthening security and fundamental freedoms on the Internet.

However the Pirate party fares in the June elections, the Pirate Bay story appears to be far from over. Within days of the verdict, the defendants' lawyers called for a retrial after it was revealed that the presiding judge sits on the board of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property, an IP organization, and -- along with some of the plaintiffs' lawyers -- is a member of the Swedish Association of Copyright. The defendants have also filed an appeal.

As for the file-sharing site itself, it is carrying on business as usual, simply ignoring the court's ruling.

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