Pirate Bay reports pirating anti-piracy group to police

The Pirate Bay has lodged an official police complaint against the anti-piracy group that copied its famous pirate ship logo.

Last week the Pirate crew warned that they were considering action against the Finnish Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC) after that organization copied the CSS style sheet to get the logo image and then twisted it to show the ship sinking.

Under The Pirate Bay's terms and conditions, using its content in this way is fine, so long as people ask permission first. Since no permission was sought, the site can now charge CIAPC a fee of €5,000, and on Monday it reported the organization to the local police.

"While The Pirate Bay may have a positive view on copying, it will not stand by and watch copyright enforcing organizations disrespect copyright," said Winston Bay in a statement. "It's funny that we have to teach the copyright lobby the meaning of the law. The fact that they wrote it doesn't mean that they are above it."

In a canny PR move, The Pirate Bay site has said it will not seek to profit from the case, and has vowed to use any money it gets from CIAPC to compensate one of the anti-piracy groups other victims, a nine-year-old girl who had her Winnie-the-Pooh laptop confiscated by police after she tried and failed to download a single track illegally.

The early-morning police raid garnered CIAPC a lot of unwelcome attention after it was revealed that it had tipped off the police about the pint-sized pirate. After being vilified around the world, CIAPC backtracked, dropped all charges, and had the little girl's laptop returned, but The Pirate Bay would like to offer her an upgrade.

"CIAPC is like an ugly high school bully without friends. It's time to take a stand. Cyber bullying is a serious matter to us all," Winston Bay continues. "Our hearts are with the victimized 9 year old Finnish girl. Any money that might come out of this will fund a new computer for the girl."

But it looks as though CIAPC might actually welcome a legal challenge. When El Reg contracted them last week about the original threat of action, its communications director Juha Rislakki said that the group would be keen to take up the legal fight.

"CIAPC has not yet been contacted by Pirate Bay but we do hope that the site's operators come out publicly with their real identities and get in touch with us," she said. ®