A Swedish firm has hijacked the Pirate Bay logo after discovering the torrent tracker had not registered its three-masted graphic with the appropriate authorities.

Sandryds Handels AB has been all over Swedish Radio today, Torrentfreak reports, saying it plans to use a tweaked version of the Pirate Bay logo on a range of USB sticks.

According to Torrentfreak, a company spokesman said the firm had registered the log with the Swedish authorities after noticing it had not been officially registered.

The site quoted a spokeman for the Swedish patent and registration office, who said there were no rights for the logo, and so therefore Sandryds Handel was able to register it.

The case raises the delicious prospect of Pirate Bay going to court to defend its intellectual property.

However, sometime Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde apparently told TorrentFreak: “It will be turned over quite easily, it’s a preliminary registration that is being ‘tested’.”

The torrent trackers reckon they'll get the Swedish authorities to annul the deal. For its part, Sandryds Handels seems to be open to striking a deal over the logo.

This might seem like a good outcome all round: Pirate Bay gets some revenue while Sandryds gets an arguably hip, subversive logo. The only snag is that commercial projects involving Pirate Bay have a habit of sinking without trace - witness its supposed takeover by Swedish outfit Global Gaming Factory. ®

Related stories

• Pirate Bay says tracker tech is so yesterday, man (17 November 2009)
• Pirate Bay clampdown prompted file sharing site spike (2 November 2009)
• Pirate Bay appeal slips into next year (19 October 2009)
• Pirate Bay co-founders deny ownership of site (9 October 2009)
• Pirate Bay buyer admits doubts over deal (7 October 2009)
• Pirate Bay back online and back on Google (5 October 2009)