Pirate Bay Trial to Start on Monday

The trial against four people involved in running The Pirate Bay, one of the most widely used BitTorrent trackers for music, movies and software, will start on Monday in Stockholm.

The four, who could end up in jail, are charged with facilitating and aiding copyright infringement.

According to the charges, revenue made from advertising on the Web site totals at least 1.2 million Swedish kronor (US$140,000). Swedish prosecutor Håkan Roswall is calling for The Pirate Bay four to forfeit that sum to Swedish authorities.

The entertainment industry also wants damages for copyright infringement. Hollywood, for example, wants 93 million Swedish kronor, according to a claim filed by industry organization the Motion Picture Association in May last year. The recording industry is seeking €1.6 million (US$2.06 million) in damages, according to a claim filed in March last year by industry organization IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry).

The trial has been a long time coming. Swedish police raided the company that hosted The Pirate Bay servers in May 2006, and charges where filed in January 2008.

The trial is expected to last for 13 days. But no one expects the case to be settled in the district court. A final verdict should not be expected until five years from now, Marianne Levin, a lawyer and expert in intellectual-property law, said in an

interview with PC för Alla, an IDG publication in Sweden.