Pirate Bay loses trial: defendants face prison time, hefty fines
Co-founders will appeal decision
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It's official - the four defendants in The Pirate Bay versus entertainment industry trial have been found guilty in a Swedish court of being accessories to breaching copyright laws.
The verdict was handed down to four men behind the notorious BitTorrent tracker site this morning in a court in Stockholm.
"The Stockholm district court has today found guilty the four individuals that were charged with accessory to breaching copyright laws," the court said in a statement. "The court has sentenced each of them to one year in prison."
Additionally, the defendants have been ordered to pay 30 million Swedish crowns ($3.58m).
Big entertainment companies including Universal, MGM and Sony have been seeking damages of more than 100 million crowns ($12m) in lost sales.
The Pirate Bay Co-founders Peter Sunde, Carl Lundström, Frederik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg have already gone on record to say they will appeal the decision.
"Today’s verdict is the right outcome on all three counts. The court has also handed down a strong deterrent sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed," said the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's boss John Kennedy.
"This is good news for everyone, in Sweden and internationally, who is making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will protected by law.”
Earlier this morning Sunde revealed TPB had lost the trial via his Twitter account. ®
