The operators of popular file-sharing Web site the Pirate Bay have been sentenced to a year in jail, convicted of breaking Sweden's copyright law by helping millions of users freely download music, movies and computer games on the Internet.

In a landmark ruling, the Stockholm district court sentenced Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundstrom to one year each in prison. They were also ordered to pay damages of 30 million kronor ($3.6 million) to a series of entertainment companies, including Warner Bros, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Columbia Pictures.

The defense lawyers argued their clients should be acquitted because The Pirate Bay does not host any copyright-protected material, but only provides a forum for its users to download content through so-called torrent files.

However, the court found the defendants guilty of helping users commit copyright violations "by providing a Web site with ... sophisticated search functions, simple download and storage capabilities, and through the tracker linked to the Web site." The fact that the site was "commercially driven" was seen by judge Tomas Norstrom as an aggravating circumstance.

The Pirate Bay provides a forum for its estimated 22 million users to download content through so-called torrent files. The site has become the entertainment industry's enemy No. 1 after successful court actions against file-swapping sites such as Grokster and Kazaa.

Following the announcement of this morning’s decision, a spokesperson for the Motion Picture Association said: “This is an important decision for rights-holders, underlining their right to have their creative works protected against illegal exploitation and to be fairly rewarded for their endeavours. This decision will help to support the continued investment in talent and in new online services (both locally and internationally), and the creation of new films and television shows for enjoyment by audiences around the world.”

Johan Holmer of the Swedish Producers’ Association commented: “Illegal file-sharing is one of the main obstacles to a positive development for Swedish film production. An international study estimated the lost revenues to SEK700 million (€64 million). These are huge sums for Swedish film”

According to the MPA, the worldwide motion picture industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theatres, video stores and pay-per-view operators lose more than $18 billion annually as a result of movie theft. More than $7 billion in losses are attributed to illegal Internet distributions, while $11 billion is the result of illegal copying and bootlegging.

Story filed 17.04.09