March 4, 2009 12:17

Legal arguments close in Pirate Bay trial

Defence insists its innocent in closing arguments

A verdict in the court case The Pirate Bay is expected in a few weeks after the defence wrapped up their arguments yesterday (March 3).

The founders of the website are been sued for copyright infringements, with the prosecution calling for a custodial sentence.

However speaking the Stockholm court yesterday, one of the defendants, Fredrik Neij, insisted he was innocent, reports Swedish paper The Local.

"The prosecutor has said that it is not the technology that is on trial, but it is Pirate Bay's technology and how it is used that renders it permissible," Neij's representative Jonas Nilsson explained. "It is a completely legal technology that is offered by The Pirate Bay. It is an open site where users themselves upload content. There is certainly a lot of copyrighted material but this is an internet problem, not a Pirate Bay problem."

He added: "Bit torrent technology can be used for both legal and illegal means on Pirate Bay in the same way as by Google or MySpace. That someone at The Pirate Bay has a cocky attitude or certain political standpoint is not sufficient to issue a guilty verdict."

The court is now expected to consider its verdict over the next few weeks.

What do you think of The Pirate Bay? Join the debate at NME.COM/BLOGS.

The world's greatest music magazine is now available as a digital edition! For exclusive content you won't find on NME.COM, download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Share on Facebook