• Sweden edition

Showbiz reps appeal for more Pirate Bay loot

Published: 20 May 09 16:56 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19572/20090520/

The US entertainment companies who last month claimed victory in The Pirate Bay trial have now appealed the verdict, arguing that the fines imposed on the four men convicted in the case were too low.

In documents filed with the Svea Court of Appeal on May 8th, the last allowable day to file appeals, lawyers for US music and film companies also said they want the court to reintroduce a charge alleging the four worked to deliberately violate Sweden’s Copyright Act.

The formal charge, preparation for breach of the Copyright Act, was dismissed by the Stockholm District Court, resulting instead in the four men, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Carl Lundström and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, being convicted of on the sole charge of complicity in breach of the Copyright Act.

Entertainment industry lawyers assert in the appeals court filing that the compensation claim of 30 million kronor ($4 million) handed down by the lower court doesn’t fully cover the scope of damages caused to the companies.

During the trial, industry lawyers had argued that the four defendants should be made to pay more than 100 million kronor in damages, but the eventual sentence called for a significantly lower payment.

“The District Court is seen to hold that the fact that illegal file sharing in and of itself caused all the plaintiffs significant harm from a variety of different actors is reason to proceed with caution when it comes to estimating compensation for other losses in this case,” writes Monique Wadsted, represents US film companies, including 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers, in her filing.

“The film companies don’t share this view, but rather believe that a sum equivalent to the reasonable compensation for use constitutes an appropriate and reasonable estimate of the damages.”

Wadsted said she did not actually expect the appellate court to overrule the district court with respect to the additional charge.

Rather, the move was about establishing legal precedent.

“We are doing this because we want to leave all possibilities open and establish the judgments at all levels,” she told The Local.

While she at first claimed that the appeal was “not about the money”, Wadsted later explained that her clients do in fact want The Pirate Bay defendants to pay a higher level of compensation based on a method of calculating damages championed by the film companies.

“We claimed a much greater amount. What we have appealed is the method of calculating fair use,” she said.

In addition, Wadsted, as well as attorney Peter Danowsky, who represents several record companies, and Henrik Pontén of Sweden’s Anti-Piracy Agency (Antipiratbyrån), also requested that the Court of Appeal order the four defendants to pay the entertainment industry’s legal fees.

Previously, the four guilty Pirate Bay defendants had filed their own appeal in the case, arguing that the District Court's ruling is based on faulty assumptions about the nature of file sharing.

Additional reporting by Paul O'Mahony

David Landes (news@thelocal.se/+46 8 656 6513)

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17:57 May 20, 2009 by eZee.se
Need any further reasons to vote for the Pirate Party?
19:23 May 20, 2009 by freethinker
lol.. this gets lovier and lovier. The people convicted are appealing right? Well, hopefully on appeal they'll be exonerated, and if there's any justice in life they'll be able to counter sue, and collect damages from this harassment.
20:37 May 20, 2009 by bocale1
Let's play with the fire then,,, personally, it is several months that I do not spend 1 single SEK for film, music and whatsoever copyrighted content... I think this is a measure that any single individual in this country should take against such arrogance.. an option totally legal, fair and reasonable... you can see a lot of things in TV and listen to radio, going to pubs and listen to good live music or just use you*ube or spo*ify free and so on... boycott those companies and we will see how it will end up
21:12 May 20, 2009 by RoyceD
So in the face of the startling reality that film companies no longer deserve a piece of the movie making pie they are claiming for more money? Surely someone is playing a joke. The movie distribution market as we knew it is dead, long live digital transfer direct to home television screens. No more queuing for over priced pop corn, no more putting up with annoying fellow movie goers, no more putting up with paying large amounts of money to sit on the end of a row of seats where people walk past you all movie long!!! The tyranny of the movie theater and the dominance of movie production companies is over! With digital distribution only good movies will become popular, and not the ones that are scheduled to be popular that quarter!
21:46 May 20, 2009 by sruk
You are right bocale1, and it works. When France refused to stop the testing of the atomic bombs, sales of the French food imports collapsed in UK, 30 days later they stopped, when Shell decided to sink the platform in the see, everybody deserted Shell petrol stations and they changed they mind shortly afterwards... So hit them where it hurts..

RoyceD is right they can't sell us the usual rubbish so it hurts..good music and good movies always find the buyer..last time i checked people still kept buying Shakespeare, Dostoevsky or the Bible...an there is no copyright on them, you can download them freely...
22:34 May 20, 2009 by Nemesis
They have had there piece of meat.

Anything else is just pure spite and to inflict pain. There is no need for it.

I know the pirate bay people have been flouting the law, but having a judge who is comprimised on a case and then looking to twist the knife tells me a lot about the people taking the case.

They have won, now they want to kick them while they are down.
01:05 May 21, 2009 by Geno44
If I see one more story about entertainment companies defending physical formats, I'm gonna throw my buggy whip out the window. Or maybe my Discman! While the labels fret about water over the dam, the public has moved on. The future will arrive because you can't keep the public back once they've experienced a better way.

The future is all your music at your fingertips all the time. Why worry if you brought a certain track if you know it will be available instantly, anywhere?

The major labels could have charged for P2P transfers for the last decade. Instead, they demonized the technology, tried to bully their customers unsuccessfuly and left all that money on the table. But that ship has sailed. Technology is a story of evolution. If you think that physical will still rule, then you're reading this on an Apple II or an original IBM PC. It is misleading to call them entertainment companies. The way they act, you would think they were in the plastic business.
09:48 May 21, 2009 by KnowledgeIsPower
I think the idea of asking for fictional lost revenue on the part of the US production companies is laughable. It's nothing but speculation, and I don't think there is much evidence to support the idea that humans are 100% accurate when it comes to clairvoyance. Just look at the economic crisis. Unreasonable speculation paramount to fortune telling should not intrude into any legal system's decision regarding the severity of punishment or retribution.

Furthermore, this truly does highlight the need for the Pirate Party. The US production companies want to establish legal precedent. With a first case setting legal precedent against file sharing, discussion on the topic of copyright reform will become effectively pointless. Thus, the Pirate Party is needed so that the legitimacy of current copyright laws can be questioned and properly discussed. Only then can some system which supports quality art culture and free information can be reached.
10:07 May 21, 2009 by Holecutter > The Howl From He
KnowledgeIsPower

I was very impressed with the structure of your post. I am a pro Pirate bay advocate, and I believe that people like you who can structure their message so eloquently, will ultimately enable Prate Bay to "win the day"

23:10 May 21, 2009 by DAVID T
I think the company that owns the rights to movies and music also have the right to distribute them as they want. Surely it's their product? If you don't like it - don't buy it is fine - but don't steal it.
18:44 May 24, 2009 by iurdsuecia
Why the hollywood companies and actors have to make make such a high profit? Is an actor so qualified that he has to make millions and millions with one movie? That is the reason why there is piracy, it is out of a revolt against this system that makes an average person with an average salary to pay much more than it should to watch a movie that makes huge profit to hwood actors 2 marry 7 times during their lives if we want 2 watch those movies its because they bombarded us with publicity sometimes even inside bathrooms, they make us to think that is cool to watch their movies and stupid those who didnt. How about regional country cinema that hwood destroyed? Its not about stealing but going against it. They made so much money with movies destroying their own country with nuclear bombs for eg.. Where is spiderman to go n fight in afeganistan? If he is busy send any other heroe they have so many isnt it? Oh they are busy, using drugs and comitting adultery in las vegas with our money
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