Swedish IT company to buy Pirate Bay

An interesting business move.

I wonder if it will work out.

For years we were told that the Pirate Bay owners didn't care about money, had few profits, and were acting the way they did out of idealism - though I question any "ideals" which allow copyright theft and the viewing the autopsy pictures of murdered children.

Now it appears that they aren't quite so high minded at all. However, this really isn't a surprise. The fact is that they are a bunch of immature idiots dangerously messed with complicated concept about which they (and their supporters) have little understanding i.e. freedom.

@Nomark

Dont take this the wrong way, but i think you need to get laid...

If someone offered me 1 million for my car that is worth 44k...need i say more..

" The fact is that they are a bunch of immature idiots dangerously messed with complicated concept about which they (and their supporters) have little understanding i.e. freedom. "

Did you pull that out of your rear end ?

Will they pay in cash with fake money?

They have to pay thier ultra biased court ordered fines somehow. Good for them I say.

Your comment is rather typical of those who seek to defend Pirate Bay i.e. move to insult rather than logical argument.

Freedom is a very complicated concept: use too much of it and it gets taken away - history shows us that. Or to put it another way, with every right comes a responsibility.

As regards the other point, the Pirate Bay and its supporters had used the money argument consistently. Now it appears to have been a rather empty one. This is worth pointing out, whether you like it or not (and clearly you don't).

Now, if you really are a person of sustance and not just petty internet insults then why don't you write to the mother of the Arboga girls whose autopsy pictures were seen by many in Sweden because of Pirate Bay's "principles". Explain to her why the Pirate Bay's actions were for the greater good.

Finally, if you want to insult me you may wish to avoid cliche. "Get laid", "rear end" etc. are very unoriginal and not particularly effective.

Agreed. They never really made any money with the site, only enough to keep it running. So good for them.

I mean honestly, if someone said to you, "We think your website is worth millions and we'd like to buy it from you for millions." would you say, "Oh no. I'm not interested in money." Seriously.

I remember the autopsy pictures debacle. The PB operators weren't the ones who scanned the photos and uploaded them onto the internet. Other people did that. I mean, come on. You know how search engines work, right? If you found the pictures on Google, you wouldn't blame Google would you?

Don't make assumptions like that, many people would.

Oh no. I'm sooooo considering filing a lawsuit against Google for profane materials. The other day, I was googling for, "c0ck cake" hoping to find a nice rooster design. Lo and behold, the results yielded something akin to what is on Paulo's Facebook page. My virginal eyes felt as if someone had dropped acid on them and I needed to seek immediate treatment for the psychological damage.

Do you have a point HPK or do you just want to talk about c0cks ?

Roosters are fine creatures, Nomark. From your juvenile snipe, one can only assume that you're working directly with the Mullahs in Iran to rid the world of them.

As for me, I'm very upset that you didn't legitimize my trauma. It was very upsetting to Google for one thing and receive something entirely different in return. That's why I am suing them. And the United States government for allowing them to exist. And which ever higher being created Sergei Brinn and his cohort for establishing such a deviant site.

Once I win (and I will), I'm going to take my proceeds to the whores of PB and buy their site for good measure. Slowly, I will shut down the entire internets and Trowbridge will be forced to leave his house for human interaction.

Yes, my stance is entirely equivalent with hard-line islamic fundamentalism. That's one of your better analogies.

It does seem rather strange that demanding that responsible self-censorship (something we do all of the time in our day-to-day lives) in certain cases seems to have the armchair freedom warriors up in arms. Its also essential since society will curtail a freedom if used to the extremes.

As regards google images, if I see a c*ck I have a certain expectation that the gentleman in question likely posed for the shot. To the best of my knowledge the dead Arboga girls didn't have much of a choice.

I must have misread your earlier post when you commented that one of my remarks was juvinile...

:sniffles and blows snot into a hanky:

You hurt my feelings by failing to legitimize my trauma. One can only assume that your juvenile outburst was rooted in some rogue agenda to turn all Jewish lasses into blubbering fools and slowly eliminate them from this great world of ours.

You've clearly uncovered my secret plan...

So...now it's *my* fault that *you're* transparent?

I'm suing you next.

I am very proud of TPB for this. Great card played!

I'm not so sure that this was a good move for any of the concerned parties, aside from the Swedish Government saving face, and GGF buying political and tax breaks from the US and EU..

For TPB, this deal renders the individuals open to pay the 30 Million Kroner immediately to the winners of the lawsuit. It will also open the floodgates for numerous other lawsuits from disgruntled, greedy corporations who feel they've been out done. After tax, lawsuits and possible poor equity return from GGF, TPB's stakeholders are likely to see absolutely nothing from the cash or shares. It seems that they've been told that this is an opportunity for a clean slate and potential future earnings.

For the purchasers, GGF, aside from the political and very long, long term gains, and one wonders what they think their return on investment could possibly be? Was TPB's technical infrastructure that amazing and innovative that they had to spend 60 Million Kroner on purchasing it? Was it impossible for GGF to recreate it using their own expertise for far less?

I do not think for one moment that GGF really believe that they will be able to afford the sort of content rights that Hollywood and Co demand? Who will the customers/end-users be? After all, most of TPB's downloader’s were apparently downloading software, games, music and movies. They did so because they wanted the content free. How many of TPB's loyal users will stick around and pay for the new owner’s strategic business plan? I suppose TPB's IT structure could be used for gaming, but again, they could have created better for less.

I think that this all has more to do with International politics and Sweden looking to save face, and prevent any potential future embarrassment. It seems far more than coincidence that the US is about to put Obama's choice of Ambassador, Matthew Barzun, in Sweden. The man who just happens to be his Internet Strategy Advisor.

Barzun now has the heaviest connections in the software world, Gates, Ellison, Jobs, Brin etc.

The day after TPB's announced deal, Sweden takes over the European Union six-month presidency, at probably the most difficult time in its history, with companies struggling top save jobs.

I wonder how much of a tax break, and how much of a Government subsidy GGF will get in return? Aside from which, I wonder how much schmoozing from the US Ambassador Matthew Barzun, and so US business, this will get GGF?

This is all political; the US will now see Sweden as a friend. Sweden will not be blamed for any loss of revenues from the EU or US. Sweden has the highest level of political and corporate protection against any embarrassment.

Everyone is now a winner. Everyone except the idealists who supported TPB, and those who sold it, conned into the belief that they would actually make money from this and be seen as clever.

The Pirate Bay is dead! Long live The Pirate Bay!...

hey nomark i see you do not like PB. and that is ok it is one of those freedoms you are talking about, but i hope you understand it is no PB who uploaded anything. inculding the pictures of the dead girl. it was people like you and me who upload. personaly i never downloaded anything until i came to Sweden now i came to find out how nice it is for me to see some of the shows i would of missed. and as far as i know dead people have no rights and limited laws protecting there corps. so the pics do not matter to her. her as the dead person. they are only a search engine and the judge is corrupt.

Dear all fairweather Pirate Bay supporters,

What could they do? I support there move. All of you b*tching about them selling out are crazy. I don't suppose you offered to help them pay the fine even though you used their site. Plus any profits left over will be used to create a foundation dedicated to the pursuit of freedom of speech issues.

Everyone who b*tched though does have the right if they offered to help pay off their fine, if not, Shut the F**K up. Let's keep it REAL!

I thank them for setting up the Pirate Bay and giving me a chance to use it...it definately was good while it lasted.

Sincerely,

"A Pirate For Life :-D"

Seems they will be paying he sharers now.

Pirate bay to pay sharers

If they'd sold it normally months ago then...not so much of a problem.

That they've done it just after the court case and all the support for them and all that though- terrible, terrible decision.

Yes for years we were told that the Pirate Bay owners didn't care about money. They were imo acting the way they did out of idealism. Then a big media frenzy, huge court case and eventual imprisonment perhaps made them think that the guy waving a ridiculous sum of money at them had a bloody interesting proposition.

"no cause is lost if there is but one fool to fight for it" Pirates of the caribbean

Deep down there is a filthy capitalist inside every Swede no matter what they tell you.

Well, the Vikings were great traders...