Michael Jackson to sue The Pirate Bay

Michael Jackson and the owners of the rights to the music of Bob Marley are planning to sue the founders of file sharing website The Pirate Bay, according to a report on Swedish business website E24.

• Pirate Swede in 'biggest ever' hacking trial (20 May 13)
• Swedes ditch downloads for illegal streaming (29 Apr 13)
• Pirate Bay co-founder charged for hacker attack (16 Apr 13)

The king of pop and the heirs to the master of reggae will join Prince, the Village People, Van Morrison and UB40 in enlisting the services of UK-based internet policing service Web Sheriff.

"The list of artists is not ready yet but the compensation claims will amount to more than $100 million (619 million kronor)," Web Sheriff President John Giacobbi told E24.

Giacobbi was in Stockholm on Friday to meet with Swedish lawyer Lars Sandberg, who has been hired by Web Sheriff on behalf of the musicians.

Giacobbi said he was also keen to have Sweden's must successful ever pop stars on board.

"I have tried to get in touch with the members of Abba. It would be great if they too were interested in having their case tried. They are the best symbols for Sweden after all, unlike the founders of The Pirate who steal music and have given Sweden a bad name," Giacobbi told E24.

A number of organizations have previously submitted damages claims to Stockholm District Court in connection with the forthcoming trial of the four people beihnd The Pirate Bay.

Ealier this month the Motion Picture Association of the United States (MPA) demanded 93 million kronor ($15 million) in compensation from the file sharing site.

Gottfrid Svartholm Varg, one of The Pirate Bay's co-founders, said at the time that the MPA's claims had no basis in reality.

"These are very well-developed fantasies. They have a good sense of imagination," he told The Local.

The MPA is basing its claim on the costs its members incurred as an indirect result of the illegal distribution of four films and one TV series - Harry Potter, The Pink Panther, Syriana, Walk the Line and the first season of Prison Break.

Sweden's Anti-Piracy Agency (APB) also said it was set to demand 6.75 million kronor in damages.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has previously said it would demand 15 million kronor from The Pirate Bay for the illegal distribution of music files on the site.

Pirate Bay founders Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström have all been indicted on charges of being accessories to breaking copyright law.

A date for the trial has not yet been set.