A court in Stockholm found the four men, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Carl Lundstrom guilty of contributing to copyright infringement in a case brought against the operators of The Pirate Bay, one of the world’s largest file-sharing sites with an estimated 22 million users, by media giants Warner Bros, MGM, Columbia Pictures, Sony BMG and Universal. The court also sentenced each of them to one year’s imprisonment and payment of $3.6 million in damages.

The men were brazenly unrepentant about their actions and defiant in the face of the court’s decision, and immediately announced that they would appeal the decision. A message on their website on the day of the decision said, “so the dice courts judgement is here. It was lol to read and hear, crazy verdict. But as in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end anyway. That’s the only thing Hollywood ever taught us.’

At a press conference held by the site’s co-founders, Peter Sunde held up a scribbled IOU note and said ‘that is as close as they are going to get from me. Even if I had money I would rather burn everything I own and not even give them the ashes. They could have the job of picking them up. That’s how much I hate the media industry.’ Despite Sunde’s claims, Swedish courts determined fines based on audits of company’s accounts which suggested The Pirate Bay had been making a tidy profit. The fine of £3.6 million imposed was less than one-third of that claimed by the plaintiffs.

Accusing the prosecution of attempting to portray the co-founders as an organised crime syndicate, Sunde claimed he hardly knew co-defendant Carl Lundstrom, who helped finance the site while the three other co-defendant‘s ran it. ‘It is serious to be found guilty and to get jail time., and that is a bit weird but so bizarre that we have even been convicted at all. It is a bit unreal.’ Sunde continued to claim the case was politically motivated, an accusation he had levelled at the prosecution team throughout the case, and urged protestors to ‘support the democratic process - and one not influenced by money and power which is the big issue here.’ He also stated that the site would remain online as it was the four co-defendants and not the site itself that had been on trial.

For the opposing side, John Kennedy, the head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said the decision was ’good news for everyone… making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will be protected by law.’