Arrrrrrrrr, Ye Scurvy Dogs!

We're reliably informed by a gentleman in the country of unquestioned veracity....well, OK, it was a newspaper....that the folks behind Pirate Bay are going on trial in Sweden for wholesale copyright violation facilitation. 

Here's how it worked. The site does not actually store copyrighted material in its servers but merely provides a medium whereby members may exchange files among themselves-kinda like Napster, Kazaa, Grokster and a passel of others did, before they were shut down.

"B-b-but Sparky!" you say, "I-i-isn't it good for people to share?" 

Well, of course it is, little feller, but what we are asking the court to decide is whether providing a medium for people to evade copyright law and rip off the owners of the intellectual property therein is sufficient provocation to bring the law down on them.

The issue's been settled adversely in this country, and the Swedes tried to shut the operation down but it now seems that it's not going to be that easy because it's decentralized itself you see.

To add insult to injury, the fellows who are behind all this have an archive of correspondence from people who would like them to stop facilitating their being ripped off, and their....ahem....responses thereto.  It makes interesting, if somewhat juvenile, reading.

The takehome will be interesting.