The Pirate Bay vs Media Defender

[Dr.Uudge]

http://thepiratebay.org/blog/86

I've been following some of the news of the Media Defender email leaks, and apprently, the companies were hiring/paying hackers to disrupt the TPB trackers.

Looks like TPB is going to bring legal actions against the named companies.

Ironic.

They went to the police the night to Saturday.. So things are shaking. Doubt anything will come out of it, but maybe cause some ruckus.

[zSilver_Fox]

While I'm all in support of The Pirate Bay here and against the unethical tactics used by Media Defender (not surprised by them though), I'm curious as to how it'll all work out. TPB pretty much knowingly acts as a trafficking site for both legal and illegal torrents, and does so publicly. However, this hasn't been used successfully against piracy centers in the past, so chances are MD won't get far with it. When ethics come into play, it'll become an interesting case.

[Ihmhi]

In America, what TPB is doing is illegal only because of the DMCA.

No such law exists in Sweden, everything TPB does is legal there.

So now we have an American company doing something very illegal to Swedish servers on Swedish soil. They are very much fucked.

[Paft]

Meh, it's a public tracker anyway....sucky.

[IvaQuaL]

i don't like this kind of hypocritical "hah, gotcha !" attitude.

the legality of TPB and TPB sueing anyone (as ridiculous as it may sound) is based on technicalities. they technically don't host any illegal files, the media defenders guys weren't technically allowed to do this, etc..

everyone knows TPB and the sort are essentially huge facilities aimed at illegal file sharing and that they get away with it using law loopholes and the like.

perhaps i'm a bit a "devil's advocate" (even if behind whose line the devil stands is debatable) but i just wished they toned it down in cases like this and humbly accepted their good luck without being arrogant shitheads about it.

[Coronius]

I knew it!

If TPB wins the case i will luloutloud

[SizeableSSonic]

...except you have to realize that the US government, the RIAA, the MPAA, and such, will probably all be pushing the Swedish law system to dismiss the case on some bullshit excuse.

[Ihmhi]

Originally Posted by SizeableSSonic

...except you have to realize that the US government, the RIAA, the MPAA, and such, will probably all be pushing the Swedish law system to dismiss the case on some bullshit excuse.

Yeah, the U.S. influencing Swedish law worked out real well when they tried to seize TPB's servers.

If America tries to do that, anyone in the Swedish government who tries to help them out can go to jail. It is illegal for anyone in the Swedish government to pander to the influence of another nation.

[[P]Infidel]

Originally Posted by IvaQuaL

i don't like this kind of hypocritical "hah, gotcha !" attitude.

the legality of TPB and TPB sueing anyone (as ridiculous as it may sound) is based on technicalities. they technically don't host any illegal files, the media defenders guys weren't technically allowed to do this, etc..

And technically killing a human being is murder. "Based on technicalities" can be said on any legal action since they are written in strict technical detail, that doesn't mean they are trivial. TPB's actions are not against the law. Denial of service is a crime and has been punished. They are not comparable, corporations and invested organizations that use propaganda to muddy the laws try to make you believe that they are.

[Zydell]

The whole tpb raid is a nice example of the arrogance of the American government. In my opinion it shows both disrespect for laws of other countries as well as a certain feeling of misplaced superiority over other countries. The fact that they tried to enforce action by means of sanctions makes it look even worse.

By the way, I don't believe that the legal actions of tpb against the Media Defender shall wield any success since the internal e-mails have been retrieved in a unlawfull way and as far as I know it is not allowed to use unlawfull evidence.

However, the fact that the movie industry's last resort is to hire companies who work with ‘hackers’ and other legally vague ways just — to me at last — proves how desperate the movie industry is. The battle in my opinion is already lost since the ‘pirates’ will always find ways to dodge the laws.

[Ihmhi]

Originally Posted by Zydell

By the way, I don't believe that the legal actions of tpb against the Media Defender shall wield any success since the internal e-mails have been retrieved in a unlawfull way and as far as I know it is not allowed to use unlawfull evidence.

I do not know about that - I mean, the information may have been obtained illegally, but it was not TPB that did the obtaining. After that it was publicly available information.

Let us take a more serious hypothetical case. Say Pepsi did animal testing, because their scientists told them that goats injected with arsenic would secret in their urine an amazing flavor called Crystal Berry Tangerine Pepsi Halo Edition.

Now, let us say some PETA haxxor gets his hands on a boatload of e-mails that shows (through e-mail addresses, IP addresses, etc.) that this was going on.

Do you honestly think that a judge would throw it out on the basis of it being stolen, considering the case? Well actually, they might.

But the possibility of the e-mails being real might warrant a... well, warrant, wherin the authorities could procure the e-mails and information themselves. Even if it was stolen, it might just be enough to have an investigation launched.

[qwertyuiop]

The Pirate Bay taking legal action - never thought I'd see that.

[Dragonjojo]

Originally Posted by Zydell

The whole tpb raid is a nice example of the arrogance of the American government. In my opinion it shows both disrespect for laws of other countries as well as a certain feeling of misplaced superiority over other countries. The fact that they tried to enforce action by means of sanctions makes it look even worse.

I think it goes to show how much influence these big corporations/groups have and that's what bothers me most.

It all boils down to the Golden Rule.

The one with the gold makes the rules that is.

[Innoc]

On balance I think it's reasonable to expect some parity and respect for copyright laws between countries. To have some reciprocity makes sense to me. As far as what happens in this...I guess it remains to be seen.