June 30, 2009 10:13

Pirate Bay to become legitimate downloading site

File-sharing site sold to Swedish software company

Music file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has been sold.

It is set to be transformed into a legal music site that sees artists and record labels get paid for the downloads they provide.

The Sweden-based website - whose four founders and hosts were sentenced to a year in jail and fined for copyright infringement offences in April - will be acquired by Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X AB in August.

The Pirate Bay has been sold for 60 million Swedish SEK (£4.7 million), Global Gaming Factory X AB revealed in a statement.

Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory X AB said that another new change would be faster downloads and increased sound quality for users.

"In order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary," he explained.

"Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it," he added. "File-sharers need faster downloads and better quality."

In their own statement, The Pirate Bay chiefs claimed that the ethos of the site would not change despite its new legal status.

"A lot of people are worried," they said. "We're not and you shouldn't be either! The right people with the right attitude and possibilities keep running the site.

"It's time to invite more people into the project, in a way that is secure and safe for everybody. We need that, or the site will die.

"The old crew is still around in different ways. We will also not stop being active in the politics of the internet – quite the opposite."