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Pirate Bay Founders 'Cleared of Copyright Crimes' in Belgium

posted by n1 on Sunday July 12 2015, @06:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the vicarious-prosecutions dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes with a story from El Reg:

The four founders of the Pirate Bay have been cleared of copyright infringement in a Belgian court – after it was found that they couldn’t be held responsible for the site after selling it in 2006, it is reported.

The Pirate Bay's cofounders Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij, former site spokesman Peter Sunde, and site financier Carl Lundström, were charged with criminal (rather than civil) copyright infringement and abuse of electronic communications, according to Belgian newspaper De Standaard (via TorrentFreak.)

We're told the prosecutors said they were able to download copyrighted material from the site between September 2011 and November 2013, and held the four guys responsible for allowing that to happen. But the case fell apart when the foursome showed that they had had nothing to do with Pirate Bay since the site was sold to outside investors in 2006, it was reported on Friday.

Furthermore, the court was informed that Svartholm couldn't possibly have had any involvement in the claimed crimes as he had the perfect alibi – he was in a Swedish prison serving a two-year sentence for hacking into the Swedish arm of IT services firm Logica at the time.

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  • (Score: 1) by Ayn Anonymous on Monday July 13 2015, @08:17AM

    by Ayn Anonymous (5012) on Monday July 13 2015, @08:17AM (#208373)

    You think in boxes.
    Typical caused by mass media consume and friend circles that also think in boxes.

    Why is it not illegal to download (what ever) in Switzerland ?
    Because the Swiss citizen have made the decision that they want it that way.
    Yes, the Swiss has also a corrupt government, BUT, with one very very important difference.
    When the Swiss government has it overdone again, the Swiss citizen have the last say about how things get decided.
    It is very cute to follow the American threats against Switzerland to change that law that allow any download.
    The American morons absolute not get that the Swiss government can't do that against the will of the citizens.
    The Swiss have this system of final citizen decision making since about 500 years.
    I saved them from any war since then.
    It saved them from the stupid EU and the EURO.
    It saved them from the stupid greedy American "copyright" laws.
    It is the feedback system for the Swiss government.

    Can you get something like that in your country?
    Surprise ! You can!
    There is one international party offering you the last say in decision making.
    (no yet criminalized, hurry up, work in progress...)
    And you are really surprised that you don't know that ?
    Ask the frogs how to dry the pond. Good luck to get an answer.
    Which frog make your "news"?