In 2013, anti-piracy prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad filed a motion targeting two of The Pirate Bay’s most recognizable names, ThePirateBay.se (the site’s main domain) and PirateBay.se (a lesser used alternative).
Rather than take on the site and its operators directly, Ingblad filed a complaint against Punkt SE (IIS), the organization responsible for Sweden’s top level .SE domain.
Ingbland argued that since The Pirate Bay is an illegal site the domains are tools used to infringe copyright and should be suspended. Furthermore, the prosecutor insisted that as the controller of those domains, IIS should also be held liable for copyright infringement.
IIS naturally took an opposing stance and said that any decision on the fate of the domains should be decided by the court. Meanwhile, IIS refused to suspend The Pirate Bay’s domains.
The case was heard in April 2015 and a month later the Stockholm District Court ruled that The Pirate Bay should forfeit both ThePirateBay.se and PirateBay.se.
But despite ordering the domain seizures the case against IIS was essentially rejected, with the District Court dismissing the prosecution’s case and awarding the registry close to $40,000 in costs. As a result the prosecution took the case to appeal.
This morning, however, the Svea Court of Appeal handed down its decision which upholds the decision of the Stockholm District Court.
“In common with the District Court ruling the Court of Appeal finds that there is a basis for confiscation since the domain names assisted crimes under the Copyright Act,” the Svea Court of Appeal said in a statement.
This means that ThePirateBay.se and PirateBay.se are now set to be forfeited to the Swedish state and The Pirate Bay will have to find alternatives.
Speaking with TorrentFreak, IIS counsel Elisabeth Ekstrand says that her organization is pleased that the decision of the District Court has been upheld.
“We are pleased that the Court of Appeal chose to uphold the decision from the District Court. We think it is good that this issue has been examined. Now we need some time to read through the verdict before we can make any further comments,” Ekstrand told TF.
Both of the domains are held in the name of Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij and the District Court previously ruled that he is the owner.
“The prosecutor’s primary claim with respect to Fredrik Neij should be upheld and domain names should be confiscated from him in accordance with the Copyright Act,” the Court said.
However, speaking with TorrentFreak a few minutes ago, Neij denied that he is the owner of the domains and will file an appeal to the Supreme Court to protest.
“I will appeal on the grounds that I do not own the domain and that I did not commit copyright infringement as I am not involved with the site anymore,” Neij explained.
All of the parties involved are allowed to appeal so this case seems far from over.
