TPB Facing Lawsuit Next Week
Here is a translation I made of part of a Swedish article that can be found here.
After a lengthy 20 month long investigation the time has come for the lawsuit to be filed against the men behind the biggest Bittorrent-tracker in the world, The Pirate Bay.
The coming week prosecutor Håkan Roswall at the Swedish Prosecution Authority will be filing a lawsuit against the individuals behind the filesharing network The Pirate Bay. It was in March of 2006 that the Police conducted a raid of the premises where TPB servers were located and confiscated a large part of the equipment. Several people were taken into custody on suspicion of breach of copyright laws, which in Sweden can lead up to 2 years in prison.
The prosecutor has no higher hopes at stopping the entire operation. The Pirate Bays servers are no longer only located in Sweden, but stretches over a network of several countries.
“Since the infrastructure is spread over so many places around the world there is no way one single country can stop the site” Håkan Roswall says to Reuters.
The raid of last years March is however controversial. The previous Swedish government is said to have given away to pressures from the MPAA and the US government. The Justice Department is also said to have told the Police to conduct the raid against The Pirate Bay, something which is illegal in Sweden.
Can the MPAA and US government please stay the fuck out of Swedish bizniz? kthxbai.
Source: SweClockers
Comments(160)
We’ll see how this ends…
F*ck em
I love our laws in sweden, Justice department fails.
hmm…
tpb is untouchable.
that poster made me laugh my ass off.
at least pirate bay will never be beaten.
As for the guys.
2 years in jail if that is alrite compare to Australia and US..
P2P foreva
damn that MPAA…
Don’t think the justice dept or the industry gonna succeed in this lawsuit, tops a fine, which the TPB crew won’t have trouble paying for.
Anon should give Scientology a break for a month and focus all of their might on the RIAA and the MPAA…but then continue with Scientology…they must be destroyed.
tpb rulez!!!!
down with the MPAA
What the hell are they doing? TPB haven’t done anything illegal… If any judge find them guilty, there is no justice left in this world…
the men behind TPB may get arrested, but TPB website will never get shut down
Got a high res version of the posters?
Next thing you know they’ll be trying to sue/fine/whatever sites that simply link there… and failing of course.
Oh, I wish these were the good ol’ days! I surely would sail with my fellow pirates to destroy these greedy bastards once and for all! Aaaarrhhh!
hires poster – http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2219282175_83aa0cddec_b.jpg
Corporations rule the world, worse than Commies
man…when i think of tpb, i get all warm-N-fuzy inside…best site ever…dont know what id do without it!
Well, TPB has their own lawyers so they will probably be fine. They have had a few battles with american companies already. And what those darn americans do not understand is that their law does not apply worldwide. Wich made the bust on TPB illeagal because swedish autorities fell to the pressure of big bad usa and didnt have the swedish law to back them up. It probably means that the case will be in favour of TPB in court since the ones that did the raid stand on shaky ground.
Woa – Do they keep all the downloaders in the same jail or something? That’s a load for one prision! It’s like there are no rapists or murderers to fill them!
ADZ
Catch ‘em if u can
!!!
Poster miss the best part, the police acused and threaten to add piratebay to the childpornlist with means no one in sweden can surf on there site, but as it leaked out into the media there was a debate and the police backed of. meaning mostly that people in sweden thinks it is okej to download.
As a Swede I heared this on the news when they raided thepiratebay and the media turned this into a “USA_goverment_economy_vs_the_free_people_of_the_world_debate” witch was amuseing.
NOOOOOOOO!
This Sux!!
lol that sucks for the 2 in prison..Too bad they didnt cover their tracks better… haha the conversations they will have in jail??? Inmate 1:”So what are you in for” Inmate 2: “Uploading and downloading files on the internet, How about you?” Inmate 1: “Thats pretty hardcore man, Your badass..I mean I got put in here for simply killing my girlfriend for cheating on me” lol wow…
It’s like they have nothing against them.
Creating torrents was, oh such a good idea.
.-
ahhh… i luv tpb… long live torrents
@21, fully agree with you, its a waste of time and taxpayers money pursuing TPB. I saw the guys from TPB interviewed on the BBC’s Click programme a few months back and it was fantastic, they had a great attitude and outlook, the legal section on TPB is very funny too. You can say what you want about TPB, sure their site has a lot of junk and spam, but its one helluva resource, great for finding very old torrents.
The actual courtcase and the charges against TPB are illegal..
How can you prosecute someone over a non crime?.. This is being used as a test case to see if they (prosecuters) can get away with it.
I’d seek an injuction against the courtcase and file suit to clarify if the the court actually has jusidictution to prosecute in this situation.
well i wish tpb goodluck and hope all ends well for them, the piratebay has and always will be the first sight i go to when looking for stuff..couph fff is the best lol
cheers
@23,Ponny
Yeah i left that bit out since its old news…
hehe I forgot something:
http://www.antipiratbyran.com/index.htm?id=news&p=p35#35
it stands that I man in 45 years of age got 15 days “conditional inprisonment” and a fine of 50k KR in Norway for sharing a film(Pittbullterje) on piratebay, 2770 dl on it deturment the fine, loss of sales because of the dl.
I personaly falth alot about this, I guess 1 or 10 maxium of those 2770 dlers would buy that film
@31, ReeGed
Ah okej didnt know, still made me fault about it, korkade poliser ^^
Here is the Youtube link to Pirate Bay on the BBC’s “Click” if anyone is interested, its good background material for noobs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhVVT54hrSE
I really couldn’t care less if they shut down every torrent site there is, EXCEPT for the Pirate Bay! I will go as far as supporting them financially (and I mean hundreds of dollars, not a measly 5 dollar Paypal transaction) in their quest for bringing us sheer joy by means of P2P.
Pirate Bay rules!!!
http://rapidshare.com/files/87319565/eusarum_voisald.wav
lol i love the picture with the posters
pfft, running a site providing access to illegal goods is still breaking the law. they deserve it.
idk if anyone else has noticed this, but i have been noticing that when u go to isohunt.com, and you search up anything, there are always tons and TONS of fake files that have ONLY tpb as the tracker. idk what that is about, maybe its nothing… but this guy that i know from another guy, gets movies off of tpb, and copies them to dvds and sells them. the police here in usa busted him, because apparently, the long list of movies he was downloading, came from a tracker on tpb, that was set up but the mpaa and the riaa.
so, ya idk.
http://rapidshare.com/files/87324361/DJMusicSetup.exe
They turned in the lawsuit today so it should be more news about this soon
@paul
stupid MPAA troll get off !!!
@39, the pirate bay have always had spam torrents, my guess is its so big its impossible for them to assess the quality of every torrent. Also anybody who sells pirated dvds etc is more likley to get busted than somebody who downloads for personal use, simply because its so easy to prosecute somebody dumb enough to sell fake dvds, there are trails everywhere from “customers” to the stash of “goods” in the garage lol, I doubt its anything to do solely with TPB
does anyone know about the news regarding rapidshare getting sued? looks like they are tightening the piracy issue…
this really sucks!
They are slowly trying to shut everything down!?
@43
yea, i know. but this part is funny, the movie he 1st got caught for was sometime last year, and it was Ice Age 2 haha, cuz someone requested it. lmao.
i try to be careful and use the right sites, and i dont share crap with anyone. i keep to myself lol, and if the movie or music is good enough, ill buy it when it actually comes out.
how and who do I donate too? about 95% of the torrents come from the piratebay.org I have loved the piratebay for a long time now. Let’s raise Johnny Cochran from the dead and let him present the Chibaca theory to the high court like on south park
. Anyway, i’m off to go and donate again. Pull your spare cash out of your pockets, skip a starbucks this week, skip a fast food restaurant and donate that to the piratebay.
dont worry be happy! Old generation going down soon anyway, new rules apply.
175MB video about BBC Click Meet the Pirate Bay Guys
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/BBC-Click-Meet-the-Pirate-Bay-Guys-Interview-200/4032b8f6940f5840df677652fbbb0450c0479a53a45c
bla bla bla, waste of time
one site down.. ten other sites are waiting for that one
warez were already available in the 70’s, and it’s just unstoppable..
reason why? -> cuz it’s a ‘crime’ done by people all over the world.. 100.000 people and just a lot more
anyway, good luck with wasting your time MPAA, RIAA, and all the other headless chickens.
The rich people who profit from these “stolen” properties don’t seem to be getting and less rich. Maybe if they saved the millions and millions of dollars they spend on fighting piracy they would find the profits to be equivalent or in excess of what they used to be.
All you great RLSLog guys, please take care… looks like the MPAA & RIAA just want to target whatever they can get their grubby little paws on.
If anything should happen to this site, I don’t know what I’ll do for my download fix.
As for TPB, I’m guessing (hoping!!) they’ll come out of this A-OK and have another snippet for their legal page.
If piratebay goes down who the fu** cares, many public torrent sites are much better. It’s big because it has million torrents without seeders and stupid stuff. I never dl from piratebay. Also a great damage has been done when Demonoid stopped operating, so many usefull torrents, books, audio books and rare things. So i say who give a fu** about piratebay when there are much better public torrent sites out there.
from Jan 16th, after they were served with thousands of pages to read (different lawsuit, but they aren’t worried about some fines)
http://www.slyck.com/story1638_The_Pirate_Bay_Interview
and also:
http://www.slyck.com/story1643_The_Pirate_Bay_Breaks_10_Million_Users
long live tpb
Alittle easier to just paste from The Local, swedish news for foreigns.
URL: http://www.thelocal.se/9795/20080128/
Imagine in the near future…
The MPAA and the RIAA manage to convince George W. Bush to rename the “War on Terror” to “War on Piracy” (because this one is much more important!!).
They’ll create a Department of Upload Security, invade foreign countries, ’cause they’ve allegedly got WMDs (Warez of Mass Downloads).
And every so often, a PirateBay spokesman uploads a video, declaring war on the MPAA & RIAA. He calls for DDoS attacks and hack attacks on them.
All the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay will have to be moved to accommodate the pirates… but it’s for the greater good!!
Let’s all sue Google because it links to torrent sites or mp3s or pretty much anything, and you can use search parameters to find exact files.
@55: I lol’d! =]
tpb rulez!!!!
down with the MPAA
This is Sweden, thepiratebay will never ever been shutdown. It’s never ever going to be any prison punishment.
We all love sharing movies, films, etc. But its kind of funny telling the US government and friends to stay out of Swedish business. I mean, Piratebay’s primary function is to allow people free access to American products.
@60,billy
Wow, thats quite a statement. First of all saying the primary function of TPB is to allow free access to American products is like saying America is the “primary” culture of the world, which is ridiculous.
Sure, a lot of the films shared are American, personally I detest 70% of the shit Hollywood spews out each year.
Also, just because American copyrighted files are shared on TPB this does not give the US government any right AT ALL to intervene in the SWEDISH LAW. America FUCK YEAH!? No America fuck you! I shit on the MPAA.
There, got it out of my system. No offense to you billy, just stating my opinion.
I would love to print that poster and hang it on my wall.
You two up there are forgetting that The Pirate Bay does not allow access to anything other then the site itself and their own content.
@61 dont be stupid, if sweden made sex with children legal would it suddenly be okay for a swedish man to kidnap an american kid and take him home for some buggering? and the americans wouldnt be able to do anything about it?
please people, accept that in our society you have to buy things to own them – and you guys arent doing that therefore the mpaa, police and whoever else involved has the right to try and make you pay for the crime, or at least stop you doing it over and over.
monkey pie
kiddie!
who cares, TPB is crap, private trackers all the way (www.seedmore.org) best private tracker out there, and i have one invite, who wants it?
@ FLYING GOATMAN FROM THIRD NEBULA IN OUTER SPACE IUPWNZ U ALL HAHAHAHAHA LOL NOOBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
how about a goat pie?
@Paul:
First, The Pirate Bay don’t host movies and music hosted on their servers, so to punish them is not as easy as you may think. Second, get the hell out of here.
@64
That’s a bad example. If an American kid willingly went to Sweden to have sex there is nothing America can do about it, if in Sweden that was indeed legal.
If you go to Holland you can smoke pot even though it is illegal in your country.
@60 @61
Forget blaming nationalist states of amerika and europa whatever for enforcing corporate greed. It’s All Glory to Global *Corporate* Fascism! Give any government a roll of cash up the a** and they’ll fight for the shareholder! When are you guys going to get it?
@Fragged
Here you go
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2219282175_83aa0cddec_b.jpg
Everybody knows that the only way to shut down piracy is to shut down the whole internet – and sif that will ever happen.
I suspect that this is only happening to give the likes of MPAA some exposure that they are actually doing things, even if it is futile.
All hail TPB!!
This sucks but we all know that we download illegal copyrighted videos/software/music. Some of us cannot afford to buy their high priced DVD’s, CD’s and Softwares in developing countries. Downloading and using their copyrighted products were the only means of us who could enjoy and explore such things. If not for the torrent sites and P2P apps, their products would not be known and recognize world wide. We are just like a fan for their products but cannot afford to buy but only can download however we don’t sell them to other people but we just used them for our own use only. Make people happy, like a lonely person like me who forgets loneliness for a while while watching movies, playing games, or learning how to use a wonderful app.
@paul (64)
Bad example.
Diffrent countries have different ages of consent.
In the U.S.A. even different states have different ages of consent.
From 13 in Spain, 15 in Sweden, 16 in Maryland 18 in California and in some cases all the way up to 21.
Local laws govern local jurisdiction.
If not, I guess a lot of people in the U.S.A. would be convicted for reckless driving (illegal to drive on right side of the road in the U.K.) or possesion of firearms under the laws of most nations in the world.
Kidnapping however is considered a crime in all nations I know of with working legal systems and the person performing that would get extradited if such an agreement exists, otherwise convicted at the new location for illegal detention or similar laws.
TPB has not commited any crimes in Sweden, where they operate.
If a person use the information provided byt TPB in another country to commit crimes according to their local jusrisdiction that person is indeed convictable under that jurisdiction, but only because the action was performed there.
These are international laws from the mid 1600s which all nations are obliged to operate by today, including the U.S.A.
Finally, laws are not passed down from heaven or an immutable government in the societies of today.
At one time it was a crime NOT to report a runaway slave in many states of the U.S.A.
In most countries it was illegal for females to operate their own businesses.
The laws were changed because it became public opinion that the laws were wrong.
Use your own morals and opinions to guide you as to what you consider right and wrong, but don’t consider “the law” the final word in the matter.
This is how societies are built and laws are made.
So, now go back to your supervisor at WIPO/IFPI/MPAA/RIAA or whoever might be paying you to troll here and ask them if they have anymore arguments to this, or else quit and do something that actually benefits humanity.
@5 you crazy fuk
LOL
really sad news…
you really wasted a lot of time posting that, everything you said is completely irrelevant if you took the time to read it for yourself (see, i’m hoping you copy and pasted it, otherwise you’re seriously a very sad person) – as for me being with some kind of organisation – cant i be a genuine downloader AND still believe that its a criminal act? its stealing and they dont want us to steal so they come after us. sounds fair to me.
trackers are just as culpable for providing the resources to share this stuff. please realise you’re not a f*cking hero for downloading things for free and then telling the mpaa to f- themselves. jesus… i hate to say it, as a lot of people say it on the net, but ‘grow up’ will you. please.
Benny and Bjorn here. Fear not Torrenters! We have just been on the phone with Anni-Frid and Agnetha – Abba will not allow this to happen! We will fight our way into the court room and defeat the Judge with our Abba-Fu!
Well…..
This WILL be a test for them no doubt!
The case they bring will have a few suprises i think!
It wouldnt suprise me the fact you can download some pretty dodgy porn from there, child models etc which isnt good!
Alot are saying “no worries”, or “its illegal” to take them to court!
I think the police bust says it all on that as they DID bust them when “they werent allowed to!”
I do feel this will prob finish off TPB (hope im wrong!)
Demonoid went and that was kinda private, not all over the web for all to see!
I think “THEY” will have some stuff up there sleaves
I hope im just paranoid, and hope it doesnt happen but life isnt fair and it technically gives people access to d/l copyright material which whatever way you look at it they will try and stop!
“Since the infrastructure is spread over so many places around the world there is no way one single country can stop the site”
It makes me so happy that countries would have to work together and resolve their differences just to stop little ol’ PirateBay…
i laugh
@paul (78):
Honestly, I didn’t type that for you only, but for everyone else too.
Hoping to help provide others with arguments for making the world better is… …sad? Ok then.
Read the text again and this time read it all.
As stated, no crime was commited by TPB anywhere where they fall under that jurisdiction.
No crime was commited, therefore noone can get sentenced for one and no culpability.
If the U.S.A. has weird laws, then that is not our problem.
Do you expect Sweden to come over to Texas and convict their state executioners for murder?
That is not how the legal system works.
If you think that “being a downloader” is illegal but you do it anyway, does not that tell you that something is wrong with the definition of what is currently legal?
It is not “theft”.
It is copying.
If I copy a house I have not stolen the house since nothing was removed from the original owner.
Theft and duplication are two very different words.
I did not say anything about people being heros for spreading culture and global understanding in my previous post.
Now I did.
I did not tell MPAA or anyone else to do anything.
I do however wish they would limit themselves to their originally intended task of coordinating technical advancement in the business and stay out of legislation in foreign countries.
“Grow up”?
Yeah, that is a mature argument right there.
speaking of demonoid, i loved the place, but it was hardly private – sites like piratebay killed it – coz everyone reposted the demonoid torrents on tpb, btjunkie, mininova etc and the feds went for it. damn shame, its the only site that had original torrents.
Don’t worry pirates! Something so big with a population of 1M+ can’t be shut down. Watch, it’ll shut down and within a few hours it’ll return.
Support TPB!!!
100% backing tpb in this one, as with any other Pirates vs Douchebags cases. That poster made me lol hard. gj tpb, and good luck
If you think that “being a downloader” is illegal but you do it anyway, does not that tell you that something is wrong with the definition of what is currently legal?
– um… no, why would it? if i could get away with it i’d steal from shops in the real world as well. its the same as downloading. you really think making a copy (and therefore getting something for free that you would otherwise have to pay for) is okay? seriously? so everything that can be copied should just be free?
^Yes
@ paul
what are really trying to say…typical bush people
well…if you need money to pay the layers….im happy to participate with some….TPB RULES
Get lost MPAA.
Even though i download, i still watch movies in theatres and rent (i never ever buy DVD’s so downloading has nothing to do with that) so it’s not like i’m not contributing to the movie industry. Besides, they make enough money as it is!
Where i’m from, a movie ticket costs 11 bucks! That’s freakin rediculous.
@paul (84):
Demonoid commited many mistakes if they would have wanted to stay unnoticed, but that is not TPB’s fault.
Two mistakes that come to mind would be not enforcing a private flag on their torrents and the second one would be not to have the “downloaded from demonoid.txt” in every torrent goind past them.
I never used demonoid and rarely use TPB, but I definately support their right to exist and opperate in countries they are not illegal in.
@paul (87):
I guess you and I differ then.
I act according to what I think is better for the world, not by selfish desires.
When I get presented with oportunities for actual theft from places like shops I don’t do it because I believe that is wrong, not because it is illegal.
Strange conflict here.
I do not buy movies, music, pictures, books or programs unless I have had a full functional copy of the product until I am satisfied of its ability to fullwill my intended task with it.
That would mean that if I stopped downloading I would stop buying any of these.
Considering how much I spend on these items per month I guess the publishers really gain a lot more from me buying tested products than not buying anything at all.
no i agree with you there actually i just didnt mention it – demonoid really should’ve forced the private flag, that was just silly.
i support the trackers right to exist too. but unlike you guys i also support the authorities’ right to kick their asses, just like it think its morally wrong to steal but if i was sure i’d get away with it i’d clean out the local shops in a flash. i’m the guy looting while everyone in the city is drowning.
yes i seem to have split personalities.
What is the best way to protect yourself when downlaoding / uploading movies?
I mean, what can you do to minimize the risk they sue you for downloading things from sites like these or emule?
well i use peerguardian but theres no real proof it works, but its better than nothing i suppose. a good firewalls handy too, you got any tips ‘just a guy”?
@paul (93):
That is a bit of a different debate, but before we might move to that it would have to first be established that TPB had indeed commited a crime in the jurisdiction(s) they are under.
Until the courts of any such jurisdictions proclaim them guilty or the laws are changed they are not guilty in their current jurisdiction.
“Innocent until proven guilty” still stands firm in most countries.
@math (94):
Apart from moving to a country where copying is not illegal there is no perfect protection, but you can at least get some level of protection using tools like PeerGuardian (http://phoenixlabs.org/pg2/).
Also, remember to update you IP-blocklists in all applications like eMule, PeerGuradian and µTorrent.
@#56, tramp
quote”
Let’s all sue Google because it links to torrent sites or mp3s or pretty much anything, and you can use search parameters to find exact files.”
Thats right! I never really thought about that, but the metadata to the files “.torrent” can be found on any search site. I mean just search “allinurl: .torrent” on google and you’ll get over 3 mil hits, that would make google one of the top torrent sites (all they need now is a torrent tracker). i wonder if their gonna get sued next
). But now getting on the real side of the problem… I read some of the interviews that the guys from TPB have done and they wont go down that easy. Maybe in 7-10 years if the EU get persuaded by the US to change the copyright laws do a degree where it will effect all of the EU members (highly unlikely) and even if that applies local jurisdiction will overpower the global one.
Now on a sidenote, because i saw some comments as everyone knows that they download copyrighted “materials”, the thing is that although there are people that just download and “might” never buy what they download there are also people that buy the stuff that they like. I buy around most of the stuff that i like (even if it takes me 1 year to get all the money) and there are plenty more that do the same. and there are people that have bought stuff (i.e. a game) and the cd was scratched and instead of buying a new one for 35 EUR or whatever amount they just download a new copy.
Anyway i got that ouf of my system, i could go on but i dont want to write a book on the matter
, so gl&hf
TPB for life
@#94, math
quote
“What is the best way to protect yourself when downlaoding / uploading movies?
I mean, what can you do to minimize the risk they sue you for downloading things from sites like these or emule?”
Private torrent trackers help the most with this.
and
quote
“Apart from moving to a country where copying is not illegal there is no perfect protection, but you can at least get some level of protection using tools like PeerGuardian (http://phoenixlabs.org/pg2/).
Also, remember to update you IP-blocklists in all applications like eMule, PeerGuradian and µTorrent.”
means decent protection but nothing is 100%, anyway this is getting offtrack, “torrent download/anonymity protection” vs “TPB Facing Lawsuit Next Week” not really on the same topic now is it.
Seeing a big operator like TPB getting sued will of course scare people, that is probably the main reason for this action in the first place.
If more people took more actions to protect not just themselves but by extension their fellow peers there would be a lot less problems like this.
I forgot to mention in my previous post, there are services that will allow you to use a different (Swedish) IP-address for all you traffic regardless of location through something called VPN or “tunneling”.
This should help, although it will very probably lower your network performance.
If you are interested you can look into these services for startes:
https://www.relakks.com (Associated with the swedish “pirate party”)
http://www.prq.se/ (Associacted with TPB)
Swedish prison..?
I took tennis lessons when I had a visit there a few years ago..
I think I’ll take a golf course next time. Or maybe an Xtreme sport like speed wall climbing, hehe..
I am with #2… F*ck em
Corporations think they own us but they better start think different. They may own the company but they don’t own me.
On the other hand, U.S. Congress voted to give themselves another raise. But this one increases annually. I am fed up and really frustrated that others (many more in fact) are still “asleep” or still buying into the corporate lies.
Has “America: Freedom to Fascism” been brought out on here yet? I know it’s old, but so was “Zeitgeist”.
-NS- Death to Secret Societies. I AM Sovereign.
@32 Ponny re: it stands that I man in 45 years of age got 15 days “conditional inprisonment” and a fine of 50k KR in Norway for sharing a film(Pittbullterje) on piratebay, 2770 dl on it deturment the fine, loss of sales because of the dl.
Here is the link to the case. (Norwegian sorry)
http://lovdata.no/cgi-wift/wiftldles?doc=/usr/www/lovdata/lr/lrb/lb-2007-069411.html&emne=pitbul*&&
Long live the pirate bay.
if they did somehow close the site down, one thing is for sure – the biggest DNS attack in the history of the internet will occur shortly afterwards and some major corporations will wish they hadn’t picked a fight with the wrong people
@102 ………… exactly, a corporation without people well it would be NOTHING and corporation need to realize that without the people buying their garbage, they would be nothing……
download all you can,
if you like buy it,
or dont ,
it’s up 2 your conscience,
it’s all data- easy replicated
information.
copyright is just a bussines
ideal, it is nothing set in stone,
the big money companies and Elite
of this world , do not like the fact that it’s a level playing field for people with
and without money,
if you use something , it is a good idea to help the creators in some way, it is like using something without saying thankyou.
it is good to say thankyou and be courteous.
that is all, we are all people but the world is now different, I expect the moneymen of this world to fight back with EU legislation and take power back.
until then it will continue,
but there is a price to pay,
as the people who create content are people
too and deserve respect, but i dont like lawyers
and opression in whatever form it is applied, this
makes people less likely to pay.
But something must be done, this problem where
nobody gets paid for anything cannot go on forever,
maybe free content with ads that pay the creators of content?
peace and love.
argh maitee! a pirates life it should be! long live tpb!
They can’t bring us down.
OMG!! PLEASE NOT TPB!!! This is almost the best site!! We’ve already lost Demonoid!! PLEASE NOT TPB!!!! please TPB i know u will win once again!!
:D:D:D
pirate bay rocks!
Dj Music Setup Great Dj Mixer
http://rapidshare.com/files/87417159/DJMusicSetup.exe
And y yall dl that check out this awsome song
http://rapidshare.com/files/86951910/Drowning_Pool_-_Let_the_bodies_hit_the_floor_.mp3
Why does every comment section include people saying they hate America? Surly people are bright enough to know that the actions of the government don’t speak for all the people. I am American and I don’t agree with hardly anything my government does, so does that mean you hate me too? Before you start saying you hate America perhaps you should ask yourself this question: Are you in total agreement with everything your goverment does? The swede Government bowed to pressure from the U.S which was stupid, but how come no one is filling up the comments with I hate Sweden? It is because to take a mistake on the Swedish government’s part and turn that into: “I hate Sweden or I hate Swedish people” is completly stupid. But people do it all the time with America. Bush does something stupid and then here come the chants “I hate america and I hate americans. To think all Aermicans are on the same page and agree on everything shows a very simple mind and a lack of nuance and complex thought.
I think the MPAA and RIAA are nothing but a bunch of greedy pigs who just want to fill there over flowing pockets of money with even more money and get a kick of screwing the little guys. What percentage of the world use TPB? not as much as the people who go openong night to see a movie. They make milions on these movies and music and sitll want the pennies from the few that use these sites. I have actually gone to the theatres to watch a movies after seeing it from a download because I know it was good and I am not wasting my money for some crap that wins awards these days. with the money they spend going after poeple would be spent feeding the hungry the world would be a better place.
It is a shame but I truly believe P2P will never die. There is money to be made from this and someone somewhere will be making it. Just like drugs are illegal but it is still a billion dollar bizness.
@113 – well said… and very proper.
F*ck Sweden and its people!
Per Wikipedia…
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA), is a non-profit business and trade association based in the United States, which was formed to advance the business interests of movie studios.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of a large number of private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, which the RIAA claims “create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.”
As you can clearly see, neither of these organizations represent the Americian government or its people.
Anyone else find it ironic that we are reading this news of a release website
HAHAHA
RLSLOG !
@113. Agreed, and well said. I’m not surprised at the American government’s ineptitude, but I’m quite shocked that Sweden bent over and took one for the team.
I’ll see how the court case turns out before forming a complete opinion. If the case gets thrown out, and the Justice Department / MPAA ends up paying TPB’s legal bill, then I’ll wish we had their justice system.
As for perceptions of America… if 60 million people vote for an idiot, what are ‘outsiders’ supposed to think? I’m from England. I like America… its a great country and despite some gun-totting idiot rednecks, this country’s people show more love, gratitude, compassion and alturism than most in this world. The idiots here spoil America’s reputation for the masses. Just like the football hooligans (not football fans, note I distinguished), neo-nazis and drunks in England.
America has a chance to redeem itself in ‘08. Get it right this time.
I’m with Wesley Snipes on this one… always bet on black.
@120… what I meant to say is “allegedly vote” for an idiot. uhum… ::cough:: ::splutter:: anyone got a screwdriver and a flash drive. ;|
oh my, you’re all conducting in illegal activity!
YOU ARE A PIRATE!
this may well be the end folks, if the swedes are gonna pull a do-over after the raid in 06 chances are they wont want to re live the shame that the previous loss dealt them. With this in mind lets put our hopes in the freedom of our friends @ TPB [and many others] that they are not subjected to criminal prosecution and subsequent jail terms. there’s thunder in the distance folks
Its no wonder half the world hates America. My country can’t seem to get it through its thick skull that we have no business in the politics of other countries. I have said for years that we should mind our own business and only get involved in instances of genocide. I think we are on a self destructive path. I can only hope to get out of this country before the world turns on it for good.
“Corporations rule the world, worse than Commies”
Grow up. Corporations don’t control where you can live, what you can read, study, or think.
We download illegally copied movies helped by Swedish servers. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this is stealing. We do it and happily, but it’s still wrong.
Goodness sakes.
Oh and Timmy, get out of America. That country doesn’t need traitors like you.
Hm, prosecuting torrent sites is pointless.. for every one of those, there are 100 blogs & forums sporting rapidshare links to the same content.
And face it, people don’t really CARE about downloading. It doesn’t FEEL unethical, not like dropping your trash on the sidewalk. I mean, it’s just BITS AND BYTES – there’s much more serious crime out there, so spend those millions on child trafficking you d1ckwads. In the scale of world problems, it’s amazing how much money is being sunk into this, mainly filling the pockets of lawyers.
Basically, if movies and music were marketed at reasonable prices in an accessible way, people wouldn’t pirate so much. It’s also because there’s so much CR4P music and hollywood trash out there, it makes the art itself seem cheap. So again, people could care less, because we KNOW what we’re sold is rubbish.
It’s the Nike problem – shoes cost $5 to make, and we pay $100 for them. Nobody would think that fair of anyone, especially the poor workers on the bottom rung. (http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Boycotts/NikeThird_facts.html)
If we could pirate Nike over torrent, don’t you think we would? In fact people do, by making clones. So the problem is quality and greed, not downloading. The big companies don’t respect us, or anyone else, so we don’t respect them. Simple.
Pirating has become a cultural movement – an expression of dissatisfaction and protest against the staus quo.
Or I’m talking cr4p and it’s done just because it can be done. Maybe both.
@120
“if 60 million people vote for an idiot, what are ‘outsiders’ supposed to think?”
That the other 220 million citizens of this country, including me, are much much smarter than they are.
I think it’s time for TPB to move to somewhere the **AA can’t touch, such as Sealand.
http://torrentfreak.com/possible-locations-for-the-new-the-pirate-bay-hq/
are there any resistance group to balance this capitalist sheet?
I live in sweden and we run one of the biggest filesharing networks in the world and we am not going to stop whatever happens, we have servers all over the world not just in sweden and if they think dragging people to court is going to stop our revolution against fat american dollar hungy politicians and lobbyists they are wrong.
Dont get scraed people, its in times like this we need to doubble our effords to share as much as possible and fight back with all means possible.
Its not about sharing files its about cooperations controlling our lives and setting irrational prices on goods that should be available for everybody as a human right.
We do not live in 1820 now and its time our politicians and the big multinational companies realizes they cant suck our blood forever without us fighting back
I support TPB and filesharing in general and I will do so whatever it takes even if it means I have to die doing it
Dent
Arrr mateys, ramming speed and load yar cannons.
Good luck TPB
Maybe they need this.
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3781058/Merriam-Webster__s_Dictionary
Who else thinks that michelle mclaughlin looks like katherine heigl?
@94 Math,
Using P2P networks is inherently unsafe. Blocklists can help, but keep in mind that IP ranges aren’t put on the block list until someone knows that the anti-P2P companies are using them and by then it’s usually too late.
@118 Anonymous Too,
“As you can clearly see, neither of these organizations represent the Americian government or its people.”
No, but unfortunately, the American government represents these organizations. I don’t mean in the sense that the government represents everyone in the country, I mean that the American government has basically become an extension of these organizations, bending over backward to do their bidding.
@126 Fem,
“Grow up. Corporations don’t control where you can live, what you can read, study, or think.”
Thanks to some recent, stupid court decisions, corporations in the USA CAN control where you live. If a big corporation decides that it wants your land, you can be forced to sell, supposedly to help the greater good (commercial use of your property would help the economy).
There was also a recent court case where a farmer got in trouble for saving some of the seed from his harvest to use next year. You see, the seeds he originally bought were patented and came with an EULA that stated you weren’t allowed to use any of your harvest for seed the following year. The same corporation also recently claimed a patent on pigs raised a certain way, which basically says that they own any pigs raised this way.
The media corporations have basically destroyed the concept of public domain. You won’t live long to see anything created during your lifetime pass into the public domain. And they ARE telling people what to think. The MPAA and RIAA have gotten schools to insitute propaganda campaigns brainwashing kids into thinking that ANY copying, for ANY reason is wrong. I’ve actually met people online who had no clue that copyrights eventually expire. They thought (because it’s what they’ve been told by the content industry) that everything is owned by someone, somewhere and it’s NEVER ok to copy it. The entire idea of “public domain” was completely alien to them. They actually thought that Disney owned not only movies like Cinderella and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but that they owned the STORIES as well!
Anyone who wants to see where copyright madness is headed should read this;
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
It’s only a matter of time. But hay How much Fcken Fun did you have going to TPB. Seriously that sites it just amazing other then the haters posting trojans and fakes but all the people who posted the truth about files. Just like the quote from HACKERS Emmanuel Goldstein / ‘Cereal Killer’ U stop one but u cant stop us ALL~!.
@ 5
the direct link is here http://www.jamendo.com/en/download/album/15374
█▄ Pirate Bay ▄█
Meanwhile about Pirate Bay the whole Sweden and guys from other countries are with you in any ways..
@Paul – What TPB is doing is not illegal IN SWEDEN.
Since those running TPB live IN SWEDEN they are not doing anything illegal.
It’s time asshats realized that the US is a country that has NO authority outside of it’s own borders – despite the US penchant for invading sovereign nations and committing the same warcrimes that got nazi’s hung.
Is this true about pirate bay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg1S9n81ras
Ok, a few random things
Taking down the internet would not stop piracy. It may slow it down but before the internet there was disk trading through the mail, BBS’s (try using a 300bps modem to xfer todays files),etc. People will find a way.
If you think Switzerland is some island in world that can do what they want with copyrighted material go look at the Berne Convention.
How come nobody has sued the movie companies for false advertising or defective workmanship? 90% of the crap they put out I should be paid to watch!
@drklrd
I don’t think it’s off-topic to ask about protective beahviour not to get a lawsuit when reading about TPB getting a lawsuit. And I know there’s no 100% protection, that’s why I asked for advice to see if I can optimize mine.
If you know a better site where I can ask or read something relyable about that you’re welcome to inform me. But since we’re the community in that area I thought it might be helpful to know, and not just for me.
maybe people wouldnt have to download if we werent forced to pay 30 bucks for a movie. give me a regular cheap dvd and cheap case for 5 bucks then ill buy it
I think it’s a crime for police and government to “fight” the mighty torrent sites, especially TPB, because there are many people out there who download software, music, etc. first before they consider buying it. So even IF they managed to shut down all those torrent sites, it would be a loss for the industry.
> This sucks but we all know that we download illegal
> copyrighted videos/software/music. Some of us cannot
> afford to buy their high priced DVD’s, CD’s and Softwares
> in developing countries.
Then you have no right to watch/listen/use it. Just because you’re poor doesn’t give you the right to steal.
Don’t get me wrong, I download illegally often, I just don’t try to convince myself I’m not a criminal.
> The same corporation also recently claimed a patent on
> pigs raised a certain way, which basically says that they
> own any pigs raised this way.
That one statement shows how little you actually know about patents.
Is it safe to visit TPB? I need to check a torrent but am afraid.
Long live the pirate bay
I live in NZ and here to buy a dvd it costs $75-$100, and once you get it home and go to watch it you have to sit through unskippable anti piracy trash. screw that noise, i’ll just download stuff i want to watch now.
Untill the price comes down and i dont get content i dont want to see when i buy a disc, i’ll keep using TPB
After the p2p holocaust,only TPB and Edonkey will prevail.
Attacking The Pirate Bay is a fruitless endeavor when considering the huge amount of sites offering torrents or one-click links. This is a cheap MPAA sponsored Shock and Awe tactic targeting the most high-profile site in a vain attempt to intimidate all the others, by way of its ties to US (corporate) Government. Please, don’t wound what you can’t kill.
For individual file-sharers in Europe, there is fantastic news to sleep far more soundly in the arms of Morpheus at night. Since file-sharing of copyrighted material is considered a civil and NOT criminal offense, anti-piracy data-harvesting companies that cull IPs are illegally breaching your privacy, inadmissible in court. As such, ISPs acquiescing to reveal personal addresses are also in breach.
Here are a couple of articles from TorrentFreak:
http://torrentfreak.com/european-filesharers-anonymous-080129/
http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-breaches-privacy-080123/#comment-275802
@144 Someone,
“That one statement shows how little you actually know about patents.”
You’re right, I don’t know much about patents, which is why I was relying on information provided by other sources;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto#Pig_Controversy
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/monsanto-pig-patent-111
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/morepigs101405.cfm
@145 Snow
quote
“Is it safe to visit TPB? I need to check a torrent but am afraid.”
Generally visiting a site(any site) isn’t a crime. The download/distribution of the said copyrighted data w/o ownership or right to distribute is illegal(in some countries). So if your downloading something it pretty much depends on your countries copyright/anti-piracy laws. If you are afraid that TPB will give out any information regarding what you dl and what you visit then take a cold shower and wake up, TPB does not keep logs and even if they did keep logs they would probably not give them to anyone.
@134 Rekrul
True i saw a lot of people that pretty much are ignorant of their own rights mostly due to brainwashing.
@148 tangent
quote
“This is a cheap MPAA sponsored Shock and Awe tactic targeting the most high-profile site in a vain attempt to intimidate all the others, by way of its ties to US (corporate) Government.”
Agreed
quote
“For individual file-sharers in Europe, there is fantastic news to sleep far more soundly in the arms of Morpheus at night.”
I live in Europe… why would i sleep more soundly? didn’t quite get that part.
Upon conference with the leading members of State of the eGyptian empire we have come to the proceeding conclusion:
If upon the forced closure of The Pirate Bay, the eGyptian people’s declare WAR on the Rogue State of America (from now on known as RSA) as it is agreed upon this will clarify their willingness and subjugation with EVIL.
An embargo will be imposed that will limit personal connections with eGyptians and American citizens who are employed by the RSA or pay taxes to it. Our servers will reject all access from RSA IPs (proxies are welcome)and all RSA presences within our sovereign countries seen as hostiles presences and individuals.
Continues on colex.org/daily/
@150 drklrd
Here’s why: This is the lead paragraph of the 1st link I posted.
European file-sharers were given a huge legal boost today, as the European Court of Justice declared that EU law does not allow Internet Service Providers to be forced to reveal the personal details of people accused of file sharing.
Ergo, sleep more soundly alludes to feeling less fearful of the repercussions of, ahem, digital duplication.
Of course here in USA we have the Constitutuion and are government of laws
so I’m of the belief that these DVD’s, CD’s etc. are subject to the following:
————————–
If You Use A Shrinkwrap License It May Not Be Enforceable: Mass Market Software & The Shrinkwrap License
By Lloyd L. Rich of The Law Office of Lloyd L. Rich
Ever since mass market computer software has been developed computer software companies have relied upon the shrinkwrap license for protection of their intellectual property rights. A shrinkwrap license is an unsigned agreement between the purchaser of a mass market computer software program and the computer software company that developed the software. This license purports to define the terms of the transaction as well as placing contractural conditions on the purchaser’s use of the software. Computer software companies rely heavily upon the shrinkwrap license agreement to protect their perceived interests in the mass market distribution of their software by retaining title to the copy of the software – the software is licensed and not sold to the purchaser. By retaining title to the software the computer software company theoretically attempts to impose conditions upon the licensee, the purchaser, that are not otherwise permissible under federal copyright law. The principal terms of the shrinkwrap license are (1) prohibits making unauthorized copies of the software, (2) prohibits rental of the software, (3) prohibits reverse engineering and modifications to the software, (4) limits use of the software to one central processing unit, (5) disclaims warranties, and (6) limits liability.
Since the purchaser of the software normally does not deal directly with the computer software company, but instead purchases the software through mass market distribution channels – retail and wholesale stores, direct mail – the sale is usually accompanied by a document known as a shrinkwrap license. The license is normally connected to the software in such a manner that the purchaser should notice and read the license prior to using the software. Acceptance of the license terms and conditions is acknowledged by the purchaser when the purchaser opens the software shrinkwrap or other packaging, or by using the software.
The enforceability of the shrinkwrap license has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Commentators and the courts have analyzed the enforceability issue from the following perspectives: (1) The Nature of the Transaction: Is the computer software a “good”?, Is the transaction a sale or a lease?, Is the transaction governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)?; (2) Contract Creation: Is the shrinkwrap license included in the contract entered into by the purchaser and computer software company?; (3) Enforceability: Is the shrinkwrap license a contract of adhesion?, and (4) Preemption: Is the shrinkwrap license preempted by federal copyright law?
State Validating Statutes
State legislatures in two states, Louisiana and Illinois, attempted to improve the computer software company’s position as a licensor by reinforcing by statute the validity of the shrinkwrap license. These statutes have not proven to be effective as the Illinois statute was repealed and the Louisiana statute was determined by the court to be unenforceable.
The Nature of the Transaction
The prevailing view treats mass market prepackaged software as goods, since the software is analogous to any other general market product that is covered under the UCC, even though intellectual property rights are regarded as intangibles. Although the UCC does not govern aspects of a transaction that deal with the disclosure of information, the rights to use the technology, the rights to reproduce copies of the software, and the transaction involves goods that contain intangible intellectual property rights, does not absolve the computer software company from delivering to the purchaser a product that meets UCC standards.
To determine whether an agreement is a license or a sale the courts have generally looked to the terms of the license; does the licensee make periodic payments in addition to the purchase price, does the licensor retain title as a security interest, does the license expire at a specific time. Since the shrinkwrap license does not meet these criteria – the software is purchased at a fixed price with no additional payment required, title is not retained for securing payment of the purchase price as the total payment is made at the time of purchase, the license is not for a specified period of time – the prevailing view is that the transaction is a sale of goods and not a true license agreement.
Contract Creation
The principle issue is whether the license document is part of an enforceable contract. One perspective holds that if the transaction is viewed as having induced the purchaser to have agreed to the terms of the shrinkwrap license that the terms of the agreement should be enforced by the traditional doctrine of contract law which upholds the written terms of a contract. A difficulty with this viewpoint is with the manner in which the transaction takes place; the sale occurs, the purchaser pays for the software, and the license is included with the materials the purchaser acquires. In most transactions the purchaser does not become aware of the terms of the license until after the sale is consummated, even though most software purchasers are aware of the existence of a shrinkwrap license. Since the purchaser fails to sign the shrinkwrap license agreement, or otherwise expressly agree to the terms of the shrinkwrap license, acceptance of the agreement by the purchaser is inferred by opening the package or using the software even without the license terms being read.
A recent decision, Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology, focused on the issue of contract creation and whether a shrinkwrap license governed the transaction at all. Although the Step-Saver decision involved a transaction between a computer software company and a reseller which attempted to impose significant contractural limitations on the rights and remedies of the purchaser the analysis of UCC rules and their applicability to this transaction have much broader significance for mass market transactions involving shrinkwrap licenses. In summary the Third Circuit held that the shrinkwrap license did not become part of the contract and therefore was not a valid modification to a previously existing contractural relationship for the sale of prepackaged computer software. The court concluded that UCC $ 2-207 controlled the transaction and that a contract existed between the parties prior to the opening of the package. Furthermore, the license terms were an offer of new terms by the computer software company, that materially altered the contract, and were not expressly accepted by the purchaser. Although Step-Saver did not deal with a typical mass market transaction of software the use of UCC $ 2-207 and the subsequent invalidation of the shrinkwrap license should apply equally well for a mass market transaction where the sale is made based upon agreement of price and quantity. This sale and the contractural relationship between the parties cannot subsequently be materially altered by a license document that was not part of the original transaction.
Enforceability & Preemption
The Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd., decision specifically addressed the issues of shrinkwrap license enforceability and preemption raised by federal copyright law. The district court stated that the shrinkwrap license was a contract of adhesion that was only enforceable if the Louisiana statute, explicitly validating the shrinkwrap license, was valid and not preempted by federal copyright law. The court then concluded that the Louisiana statute was not valid at least to the extent that its provisions were contrary to federal copyright policy, i.e. prohibition on copying for any purpose, prohibition on reverse engineering, et.al. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that the Louisiana shrinkwrap license statute was unenforceable for attempting to expand federal intellectual property rights and therefore was preempted, at least in part, by federal law considerations including copyright and patent law.
Conclusion
Recent court decisions have concluded that mass market computer software transactions will be treated as the sale of goods under the UCC. Furthermore, the shrinkwrap license will not be enforceable because it is not a part of the contract creation between the parties. Finally, state laws that expand upon federal intellectual property rights are preempted by federal law.
This article is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have legal questions that relate to specific publishing issues and projects.
Of course here in USA we have the Constitutuion and are government of laws
so I’m of the belief that these DVD’s, CD’s etc. are subject to the following:
—————
If You Use A Shrinkwrap License It May Not Be Enforceable: Mass Market Software & The Shrinkwrap License
By Lloyd L. Rich of The Law Office of Lloyd L. Rich
Ever since mass market computer software has been developed computer software companies have relied upon the shrinkwrap license for protection of their intellectual property rights. A shrinkwrap license is an unsigned agreement between the purchaser of a mass market computer software program and the computer software company that developed the software. This license purports to define the terms of the transaction as well as placing contractural conditions on the purchaser’s use of the software. Computer software companies rely heavily upon the shrinkwrap license agreement to protect their perceived interests in the mass market distribution of their software by retaining title to the copy of the software – the software is licensed and not sold to the purchaser. By retaining title to the software the computer software company theoretically attempts to impose conditions upon the licensee, the purchaser, that are not otherwise permissible under federal copyright law. The principal terms of the shrinkwrap license are (1) prohibits making unauthorized copies of the software, (2) prohibits rental of the software, (3) prohibits reverse engineering and modifications to the software, (4) limits use of the software to one central processing unit, (5) disclaims warranties, and (6) limits liability.
Since the purchaser of the software normally does not deal directly with the computer software company, but instead purchases the software through mass market distribution channels – retail and wholesale stores, direct mail – the sale is usually accompanied by a document known as a shrinkwrap license. The license is normally connected to the software in such a manner that the purchaser should notice and read the license prior to using the software. Acceptance of the license terms and conditions is acknowledged by the purchaser when the purchaser opens the software shrinkwrap or other packaging, or by using the software.
The enforceability of the shrinkwrap license has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Commentators and the courts have analyzed the enforceability issue from the following perspectives: (1) The Nature of the Transaction: Is the computer software a “good”?, Is the transaction a sale or a lease?, Is the transaction governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)?; (2) Contract Creation: Is the shrinkwrap license included in the contract entered into by the purchaser and computer software company?; (3) Enforceability: Is the shrinkwrap license a contract of adhesion?, and (4) Preemption: Is the shrinkwrap license preempted by federal copyright law?
State Validating Statutes
State legislatures in two states, Louisiana and Illinois, attempted to improve the computer software company’s position as a licensor by reinforcing by statute the validity of the shrinkwrap license. These statutes have not proven to be effective as the Illinois statute was repealed and the Louisiana statute was determined by the court to be unenforceable.
The Nature of the Transaction
The prevailing view treats mass market prepackaged software as goods, since the software is analogous to any other general market product that is covered under the UCC, even though intellectual property rights are regarded as intangibles. Although the UCC does not govern aspects of a transaction that deal with the disclosure of information, the rights to use the technology, the rights to reproduce copies of the software, and the transaction involves goods that contain intangible intellectual property rights, does not absolve the computer software company from delivering to the purchaser a product that meets UCC standards.
To determine whether an agreement is a license or a sale the courts have generally looked to the terms of the license; does the licensee make periodic payments in addition to the purchase price, does the licensor retain title as a security interest, does the license expire at a specific time. Since the shrinkwrap license does not meet these criteria – the software is purchased at a fixed price with no additional payment required, title is not retained for securing payment of the purchase price as the total payment is made at the time of purchase, the license is not for a specified period of time – the prevailing view is that the transaction is a sale of goods and not a true license agreement.
Contract Creation
The principle issue is whether the license document is part of an enforceable contract. One perspective holds that if the transaction is viewed as having induced the purchaser to have agreed to the terms of the shrinkwrap license that the terms of the agreement should be enforced by the traditional doctrine of contract law which upholds the written terms of a contract. A difficulty with this viewpoint is with the manner in which the transaction takes place; the sale occurs, the purchaser pays for the software, and the license is included with the materials the purchaser acquires. In most transactions the purchaser does not become aware of the terms of the license until after the sale is consummated, even though most software purchasers are aware of the existence of a shrinkwrap license. Since the purchaser fails to sign the shrinkwrap license agreement, or otherwise expressly agree to the terms of the shrinkwrap license, acceptance of the agreement by the purchaser is inferred by opening the package or using the software even without the license terms being read.
A recent decision, Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology, focused on the issue of contract creation and whether a shrinkwrap license governed the transaction at all. Although the Step-Saver decision involved a transaction between a computer software company and a reseller which attempted to impose significant contractural limitations on the rights and remedies of the purchaser the analysis of UCC rules and their applicability to this transaction have much broader significance for mass market transactions involving shrinkwrap licenses. In summary the Third Circuit held that the shrinkwrap license did not become part of the contract and therefore was not a valid modification to a previously existing contractural relationship for the sale of prepackaged computer software. The court concluded that UCC $ 2-207 controlled the transaction and that a contract existed between the parties prior to the opening of the package. Furthermore, the license terms were an offer of new terms by the computer software company, that materially altered the contract, and were not expressly accepted by the purchaser. Although Step-Saver did not deal with a typical mass market transaction of software the use of UCC $ 2-207 and the subsequent invalidation of the shrinkwrap license should apply equally well for a mass market transaction where the sale is made based upon agreement of price and quantity. This sale and the contractural relationship between the parties cannot subsequently be materially altered by a license document that was not part of the original transaction.
Enforceability & Preemption
The Vault Corp. v. Quaid Software Ltd., decision specifically addressed the issues of shrinkwrap license enforceability and preemption raised by federal copyright law. The district court stated that the shrinkwrap license was a contract of adhesion that was only enforceable if the Louisiana statute, explicitly validating the shrinkwrap license, was valid and not preempted by federal copyright law. The court then concluded that the Louisiana statute was not valid at least to the extent that its provisions were contrary to federal copyright policy, i.e. prohibition on copying for any purpose, prohibition on reverse engineering, et.al. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that the Louisiana shrinkwrap license statute was unenforceable for attempting to expand federal intellectual property rights and therefore was preempted, at least in part, by federal law considerations including copyright and patent law.
Conclusion
Recent court decisions have concluded that mass market computer software transactions will be treated as the sale of goods under the UCC. Furthermore, the shrinkwrap license will not be enforceable because it is not a part of the contract creation between the parties. Finally, state laws that expand upon federal intellectual property rights are preempted by federal law.
This article is not legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you have legal questions that relate to specific publishing issues and projects.
Of course here in USA we have the Constitutuion and are government of laws
so I’m of the belief that the download of the torrents for these DVD’s, CD’s etc. are subject to the following as well: [part 1]
——————–
If You Use A Shrinkwrap License It May Not Be Enforceable: Mass Market Software & The Shrinkwrap License
By Lloyd L. Rich of The Law Office of Lloyd L. Rich
——————–
Ever since mass market computer software has been developed computer software companies have relied upon the shrinkwrap license for protection of their intellectual property rights. A shrinkwrap license is an unsigned agreement between the purchaser of a mass market computer software program and the computer software company that developed the software. This license purports to define the terms of the transaction as well as placing contractural conditions on the purchaser’s use of the software. Computer software companies rely heavily upon the shrinkwrap license agreement to protect their perceived interests in the mass market distribution of their software by retaining title to the copy of the software – the software is licensed and not sold to the purchaser. By retaining title to the software the computer software company theoretically attempts to impose conditions upon the licensee, the purchaser, that are not otherwise permissible under federal copyright law. The principal terms of the shrinkwrap license are (1) prohibits making unauthorized copies of the software, (2) prohibits rental of the software, (3) prohibits reverse engineering and modifications to the software, (4) limits use of the software to one central processing unit, (5) disclaims warranties, and (6) limits liability.
Since the purchaser of the software normally does not deal directly with the computer software company, but instead purchases the software through mass market distribution channels – retail and wholesale stores, direct mail – the sale is usually accompanied by a document known as a shrinkwrap license. The license is normally connected to the software in such a manner that the purchaser should notice and read the license prior to using the software. Acceptance of the license terms and conditions is acknowledged by the purchaser when the purchaser opens the software shrinkwrap or other packaging, or by using the software.
The enforceability of the shrinkwrap license has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Commentators and the courts have analyzed the enforceability issue from the following perspectives: (1) The Nature of the Transaction: Is the computer software a “good”?, Is the transaction a sale or a lease?, Is the transaction governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)?; (2) Contract Creation: Is the shrinkwrap license included in the contract entered into by the purchaser and computer software company?; (3) Enforceability: Is the shrinkwrap license a contract of adhesion?, and (4) Preemption: Is the shrinkwrap license preempted by federal copyright law?
State Validating Statutes
State legislatures in two states, Louisiana and Illinois, attempted to improve the computer software company’s position as a licensor by reinforcing by statute the validity of the shrinkwrap license. These statutes have not proven to be effective as the Illinois statute was repealed and the Louisiana statute was determined by the court to be unenforceable.
Of course here in USA we have the Constitutuion and are government of laws so I’m of the belief that D/L of the torrents for these DVD’s, CD’s etc. are subject to the following as well: [part 1]
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If You Use A Shrinkwrap License It May Not Be Enforceable: Mass Market Software & The Shrinkwrap License
By Lloyd L. Rich of The Law Office of Lloyd L. Rich
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Ever since mass market computer software has been developed computer software companies have relied upon the shrinkwrap license for protection of their intellectual property rights. A shrinkwrap license is an unsigned agreement between the purchaser of a mass market computer software program and the computer software company that developed the software. This license purports to define the terms of the transaction as well as placing contractural conditions on the purchaser’s use of the software. Computer software companies rely heavily upon the shrinkwrap license agreement to protect their perceived interests in the mass market distribution of their software by retaining title to the copy of the software – the software is licensed and not sold to the purchaser. By retaining title to the software the computer software company theoretically attempts to impose conditions upon the licensee, the purchaser, that are not otherwise permissible under federal copyright law. The principal terms of the shrinkwrap license are (1) prohibits making unauthorized copies of the software, (2) prohibits rental of the software, (3) prohibits reverse engineering and modifications to the software, (4) limits use of the software to one central processing unit, (5) disclaims warranties, and (6) limits liability.
Since the purchaser of the software normally does not deal directly with the computer software company, but instead purchases the software through mass market distribution channels – retail and wholesale stores, direct mail – the sale is usually accompanied by a document known as a shrinkwrap license. The license is normally connected to the software in such a manner that the purchaser should notice and read the license prior to using the software. Acceptance of the license terms and conditions is acknowledged by the purchaser when the purchaser opens the software shrinkwrap or other packaging, or by using the software.
The enforceability of the shrinkwrap license has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Commentators and the courts have analyzed the enforceability issue from the following perspectives: (1) The Nature of the Transaction: Is the computer software a “good”?, Is the transaction a sale or a lease?, Is the transaction governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)?; (2) Contract Creation: Is the shrinkwrap license included in the contract entered into by the purchaser and computer software company?; (3) Enforceability: Is the shrinkwrap license a contract of adhesion?, and (4) Preemption: Is the shrinkwrap license preempted by federal copyright law?
i hope they cant be prosecuted for this matter, its a bit silly to put some1 away in sweden while they cant proof anything at the other side of the world, piracy isnt such a big deal if you see how much money the branch make. and either way, most ppl still gonna buy the software they like(i hope) i know i do. GL for the ppl of TPB
I’m not sure wether or not this have been written before, but I just linked on to the swedish article, read it (not easy, but do-able for a dane) and found out that actually all of the evidence found at the raid have been declared null… They can’t use any of it since the raid against the swedish Pirate Bay location was illegal.
The reason of this is that it was the swedish justice department that ordered the swedish police to raid the location. This is in sweden illegal without proper investigation first.
All in all it appears as the swedish authorities will be vigilant regarding torrents and torrent webpages, but so far they can’t do squat about TPB unless they investigate properly first.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/12/npiracy112.xml
If TPB goes down im gonne nuke em