The Pirate Bay Reports Piracy to Police

[Andy Chalk]

The Pirate Bay Reports Piracy to Police

The Pirate Bay dropped the dime on an anti-piracy agency it claims illegally copied system files to create a "fraudulent parody site."

The Pirate Bay, as you may already know, is the world's largest file sharing site, and as its name suggest it has a certain propensity toward, shall we say, content that is not necessarily respectful of the copyright laws of the land. But while it doesn't have much respect for copyright, it has even less respect for those who disrespect copyright in the name of copyright. The Pirate Bay alleges that Finland's Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Center unlawfully used some of its materials to create a parody site - piraattilahti.fi [http://piraattilahti.fi/], complete with a sinking galleon - and so it called the police.

"While The Pirate Bay may have a positive view on copying, it will not stand by and watch copyright enforcing organizations disrespect copyright," The Pirate Bay said in a press release. "It's funny that we have to teach the copyright lobby the meaning of the law. The fact that they wrote it doesn't mean that they are above it."

The Pirate Bay claimed the CPIAC "is not new to balancing on the edge of what's right and wrong," noting that the group instigated a police raid [http://torrentfreak.com/police-raid-9-year-old-pirate-bay-girl-confiscate-winnie-the-pooh-laptop-121122/] in 2012 against a nine-year-old girl who had downloaded music from the internet, which resulted in the confiscation of her Winnie the Pooh laptop.

"CIAPC is like an ugly high school bully without friends," the statement said. "It's time to take a stand. Cyber bullying is a serious matter to us all."

The Pirate Bay also pledged that any financial award it wins as a result of this case will go toward replacing the girl's laptop.

Source: The Pirate Bay [http://thepiratebay.se/blog]


Permalink

 

[Falterfire]

You can't stop them. Not when they slip into... MAXIMUM OVERTROLL.

Seriously though, this makes me laugh too hard for me to side with anybody besides The Pirate Bay on this whether they're being hypocritical or not.

That said, they may not be able to win this. At least in the US, parody is protected and it may be the same there. (At least I think it is in the US. Being a dumb 'Murican I can't be expected to know anything more advanced than how to order a burger at McDonalds though)

 

[Entitled]

That said, they may not be able to win this. At least in the US, parody is protected and it may be the same there. (At least I think it is in the US. Being a dumb 'Murican I can't be expected to know anything more advanced than how to order a burger at McDonalds though)

This is not in the US though, and most other countries lack a proper Fair Use law, including Sweden and Finland.

Which is a shame, they really should have one, but as long as they don't, obstructing copynazis with copyright is the most practical form of protest.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

The Pirate Bay isn't hosting any illegal content themselves and the copyright organization is breaking the law. Add on that the fact that I can't have sympathy for someone who would force you to pay over $10k per song... Yeah, I really really really hope that the Pirate Bay wins this one.

 

[Little Gray]

The Pirate Bay claimed the CPIAC "is not new to balancing on the edge of what's right and wrong," noting that the group instigated a police raid [http://torrentfreak.com/police-raid-9-year-old-pirate-bay-girl-confiscate-winnie-the-pooh-laptop-121122/] in 2012 against a nine-year-old girl who had downloaded music from the internet, which resulted in the confiscation of her Winnie the Pooh laptop.

Yep because we all know that you can tell over the internet how old somebody is. They found out somebody was downloading songs illegally so they reported it.

 

[Phlakes]

Not so much fun when you're the victim, is it, Pirate Bay? And they have the nerve to not only go against their whole "sharing culture is our right" bullshit, but to pretend they have the moral high ground.

EDIT: Not even bothering with a flame shield this time.

 

[Zombie_Moogle]

That said, they may not be able to win this. At least in the US, parody is protected and it may be the same there. (At least I think it is in the US. Being a dumb 'Murican I can't be expected to know anything more advanced than how to order a burger at McDonalds though)

This is not in the US though, and most other countries lack a proper Fair Use law, including Sweden and Finland.

Which is a shame, they really should have one, but as long as they don't, obstructing copynazis with copyright is the most practical form of protest.

Parody is protected, yes, but TPB is claiming that CIAPC copied & used their system files, which would be a violation of copyright law either way

 

[Falterfire]

Yep because we all know that you can tell over the internet how old somebody is. They found out somebody was downloading songs illegally so they reported it.

Over the internet? No. But you can't tell me the police planned and executed that raid without knowing the age of the target.

 

[Saladfork]

I agree, actually. There's no point in enforcing a law if you have to break that very same law to do it.

PS. Before anyone brings up having to kill to stop murderers, it is legal for the police to use deadly force in that situation. I'm fairly sure it is not legal for them to violate copyright laws, though, because there's no situation I can imagine where that would be necessary.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

They are suing someone for doing the exact same thing that they are enforcing? Hypocrisy level over 9000.

Also, it's obvious that the site they're suing did it on purpose because they wanted TPB to react the way they did. I'm surprised they fell for that trap.

 

[Aeonknight]

I get the feeling people in the thread are overlooking a few key things here.

yes the anti piracy group has some egg on their face. wouldn't be the first time.

But what about TPB?

Seems they have no issue following the law when it works in their favor. That kind of undercuts any moral high ground they ever had. They're creating a double standard of only recognizing it as illegal when specific parties engage in it. What kind of crap is that?

Sorry TPB, but if you're going to protect the ability for the average user to download whatever for free, that should include even the ones you don't like. Otherwise you're just hypocrites.

Captcha: It's Super Delicious.

Yes, the irony is quite delicious.

 

[roman gnome]

That said, they may not be able to win this. At least in the US, parody is protected and it may be the same there. (At least I think it is in the US. Being a dumb 'Murican I can't be expected to know anything more advanced than how to order a burger at McDonalds though)

This is not in the US though, and most other countries lack a proper Fair Use law, including Sweden and Finland.

Which is a shame, they really should have one, but as long as they don't, obstructing copynazis with copyright is the most practical form of protest.

Parody is protected, yes, but TPB is claiming that CIAPC copied & used their system files, which would be a violation of copyright law either way

Yep. You wouldn't know this from reading the brief summary here on the escapist, but it was pretty clear in whatever article I read earlier today (probably on the BBC News site). Oddly enough, I don't recall seeing anything about the nine-year-old girl and her Winnie-the-Pooh laptop until just now.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Dear Pirate Bay,

Parody is PROTECTED SPEECH.

Unless the laws are different in Finland, in which case it isn't.

 

[rodneyy]

they are not being hypocritical they are being trolls they dont give a damn about copyright laws but when the people trying to shut them down start breaking their own rules its fun to go "ha you are just as bad as we are, have a taste of your own medicine"

its like the time a music company didnt pay royalties to some artists on mix cds they had sold. they were like the kid downloading music and then selling it to their friends.

and has been said by others. i have read this on different sites and it was not just a parody of the site they did a copy paste job with the code with only minor changes.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I thought information wanted to be free and its not theft if nothing physical was taken from you and if you are just making a copy it doesn't hurt anyone and all that other bullshit.

Guess it's only okay when someone else's ideas are in question. This follows the old adage what's mine is mine and whats yours is mine.

Or maybe they are just trolling because they want to be dicks instead of making a point of showing superiority in their own principles.

 

[Entitled]

They are suing someone for doing the exact same thing that they are enforcing? Hypocrisy level over 9000.

Also, it's obvious that the site they're suing did it on purpose because they wanted TPB to react the way they did. I'm surprised they fell for that trap.

And what was the "trap"?

That copyright apologists on the Internet will have a good laugh about how "hypocritical" TPB is for using lawsuits?

Because that works both ways, as TPB's fandom is laughing at the hypocricy of the "copynazis" stumbling in their own copyright laws. If you already used to think of TPB as ideologues, who take their anti-copyright-industry stance seriously, then this case will hardly change your mind, because then their statement sounds as if dripping with sarcasm, just as they are ironically demonstating to everyone how the laws that they protest against can be overused against their beneficiaries.

Or if you think of them as a business, then it can strenghten the feeling that they are just another corporation that would do anything to silence competition, and there is nothing more to it.

 

[V8 Ninja]

"If you do X to somebody, don't be surprised when somebody does X to you." -- Some Old Guy

I'm sure there's a saying that goes like that. It can be applied in this case to the Pirate Bay by replacing "do X" with "perform copyright infringement".

 

[Product Placement]

Dear Pirate Bay,

Parody is PROTECTED SPEECH.

Unless the laws are different in Finland, in which case it isn't.

There's a difference between parodying someone and outright copying his code. These are guys who've studied every angle of the copyright laws in order to ensure that their site doesn't violate them, so I think they know what they're doing.

Besides, you're kinda missing the point so hard that you might need to look up its area code. Fact of the matter is that it's being done by a Copyright Protection Agency that´s been fighting them at every turn. The irony is simply too great for them not to report it. If anything, the Pirate bay team are getting the largest laugh out of this.

 

[Scribblesense]

The Pirate Bay believes that copyright infringement is okay because it's sharing.

But they don't want to share their copyrighted system files, because that would be infringement?

Sounds to me like they saw an excuse to exercise their vendetta against copyright enforcing agencies, and didn't mind looking like hypocrites to do so. If the Pirate Bay really wanted copyright infringement gone, then they shouldn't give a damn about being infringed upon. They have no leg to stand on here.

Yes, they have a case, and yes, the agency in question are not above the law. But it looks to me like that agency is going to use this lawsuit to bring them out of hiding, and ask that they back up their claim with evidence that could build a case against the Pirate Bay, or worse - the Pirate Bay will be countersued and their operation shut down.

I'll admit I've no clue how the courts operate in Finland, but it seems to me an agency devoted to fighting piracy is going to rip apart pirates by getting them to court.