James Hall on 26 February 2009

According to the Local, various members of the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) have taken the stand in the ongoing trial against the Pirate Bay now unfolding in Sweden. At one point, John Kennedy, chairman of the IFPI, was silenced in the middle of his testimony by the judge after Per E. Samuelson, defence attorney for the Pirate Bay, protested that Kennedy had drifted into giving what amounted to a "political speech" on behalf of the recording industry.

Later, Per Sundin, the head of the Swedish wing of Universal Music, claimed that "Sweden has the worst respect for copyright in the world" before, as Neowin had anticipated, he brought up the recent leak of U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, in the days leading up to its official release. Samuelson challenged him by pointing out that the premature release of the album was due to an industry error (the album was accidentally made available for digital download in Australia prior to its official release date).

Samuelson then asked him exactly what the Pirate Bay had to do with that leak and the copyright infringement that followed. The point is a valid one, as Neowin has noted earlier today. The infringement of copyright is down to individuals using bittorrent clients. The Pirate Bay may provide the torrent files themselves, but these files contain no material that directly infringes copyright.

Sundin's confused reply was, "If we had more resources we would have [gone after individual users]. But we're going after the biggest and baddest villain of the piece and buy viagra now that is The Pirate Bay." This may be the way Sundin and the IFPI view the matter, but it is unlikely that the Pirate Bay personnel on trial will be found guilty of anything.

Besides, up to now, it has been difficult to go after individual file-sharers in Sweden (unlike in the United States), but this situation has changed in the recording industry's favour.

At the same time Sundin was berating the Pirated Bay as "the biggest and baddest villain", the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) passed a tough new law making it easier for copyright-holders to go after individuals suspected of infringement. Green Party Lage Rahm, one of many on the left who objected to the law, stated, "To stop file sharing a police state is required where all internet traffic is under surveillance. Is it worth it? We think copyright is important, but the problem is that it's not right to criminalize people for what they do for private use."

Rahm also expressed his fear that the new legislation would lead to "blackmail situations" where people accused of infringement would agree to "pay off" the record companies rather than face a trial. This fear contains an implicit reference to what has routinely happened in the United States and is often referred to as "extortion" by legal commentators, noting how the RIAA has systematically used the American legal system to bully individuals into "settling" out of court.

Still, proponents of the new law feel that sufficient safeguards will be in place to stop recording-industry attorneys from simply pushing the "threat" button to bypass the courts in order to use citizens as cash machines, as those critical of the RIAA's activities in America have portrayed the matter.

On a lighter note, and in keeping with the Pirate Bay's correspondence with the recording and film industry, "Kopimi" has sent a "Nigerian 409" email (of sorts) to John Kennedy, chairman of the IFPI, asking for £47,500,000.