This is almost old; I saw it last week, but it is an issue that will not go away.
Stockholm, Sweden - Last week's conviction of the founders of The Pirate Bay did not shut down the filesharing website. Instead, it has boosted the ranks of its supporters and raised awareness of an ideological and legal battle for control of how the Internet is used.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0422/p06s01-woeu.html (http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0422/p06s01-woeu.html)
Sweden developed a reputation as a haven for online piracy after it invested in high-speed broadband in the late 1990s and its reluctance to tackle filesharing became clear. The presence of The Pirate Bay, one of the world's largest, most brazen file-sharing operations – its founders held lectures titled "How To Dismantle A Multibillion Dollar Industry As A Hobby" – made the accusation hard to deny.
Until recently, politicians and police chiefs did little to enforce Internet copyright laws, says Jan Rosén, chairman of the Swedish Copyright Association.
"There was a laissez-faire attitude and the main political parties have been very reluctant to take a stance," he says.
That stance may be related to the tradition of openness in the country, he says. "The Internet has been seen as a media that is open and free. "
While I agree that the internet should be open and free to everyone, everywhere, I have problems with the stealing of copyrighted works, be it music, movies, books or software. Anyone agree? disagree?
more... http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/sweden.piracy.jail/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/sweden.piracy.jail/index.html)