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Pirate Bay sold, to become a legal download website

  • 30-06-2009 4:19pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 152 ✭✭


    I'm not sure if talking about The Pirate Bay in general is against the rules, but here goes.

    The Pirate Bay has been sold for $7,8m dollars, to a company planning to make it a legal download site.

    http://mashable.com/2009/06/30/breaking-the-pirate-bay-sold-for-7-8-million/
    Today, Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has announced it has acquired The Pirate Bay website for 60 million SEK, which is roughly the equivalent of $7.8 million USD.
    This was almost immediately confirmed by The Pirate Bay. Although the title of their post is entitled “TPB might change owner,” from the text of the post it is obvious that the site has indeed been sold.
    Two facts strike the eye: the incredibly small amount for which The Pirate Bay was sold, compared to its huge popularity and worldwide influence, and the fact that the site which has always been perceived as independent and quite controversial, was sold at all. The second fact explains the latter: yes, The Pirate Bay is one of the top 100 visited websites in the world, but it (and its owners) is also encumbered by the recent loss of a very important lawsuit.
    The Pirate Bay definitely has a lot of value beyond its controversial core business, the torrent tracker. The team behind it have launched several noteworthy projects, and their words and actions are highly influential, which has recently been proved by Sweden’s Pirate Party’s entrance into the European Parliament, largely indebted to the attention it received after The Pirate Bay’s owners lost the lawsuit.
    Normally, one would think that this sale is just some quick scraping for cash while they still have something to sell. The Pirate Bay founders are trying to convince us otherwise. From their blog post:
    “The profits from the sale will go into a foundation that is going to help with projects about freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openess of the nets. I hope everybody will help out in that and realize that this is the best option for all. Don’t worry – be happy!”
    This might very well be true, but the bigger problem is: what will happen to The Pirate Bay now that it has a new owner? The founders claim “nothing,” but I remain skeptical.

    Today, Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has announced it has acquired The Pirate Bay website for 60 million SEK, which is roughly the equivalent of $7.8 million USD.
    This was almost immediately confirmed by The Pirate Bay. Although the title of their post is entitled “TPB might change owner,” from the text of the post it is obvious that the site has indeed been sold.
    Two facts strike the eye: the incredibly small amount for which The Pirate Bay was sold, compared to its huge popularity and worldwide influence, and the fact that the site which has always been perceived as independent and quite controversial, was sold at all. The second fact explains the latter: yes, The Pirate Bay is one of the top 100 visited websites in the world, but it (and its owners) is also encumbered by the recent loss of a very important lawsuit.
    The Pirate Bay definitely has a lot of value beyond its controversial core business, the torrent tracker. The team behind it have launched several noteworthy projects, and their words and actions are highly influential, which has recently been proved by Sweden’s Pirate Party’s entrance into the European Parliament, largely indebted to the attention it received after The Pirate Bay’s owners lost the lawsuit.
    Normally, one would think that this sale is just some quick scraping for cash while they still have something to sell. The Pirate Bay founders are trying to convince us otherwise. From their blog post:
    “The profits from the sale will go into a foundation that is going to help with projects about freedom of speech, freedom of information and the openess of the nets. I hope everybody will help out in that and realize that this is the best option for all. Don’t worry – be happy!”
    This might very well be true, but the bigger problem is: what will happen to The Pirate Bay now that it has a new owner? The founders claim “nothing,” but I remain skeptical.

    http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/45748
    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."


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 128 ✭✭W!zard


    Nice pocket change! Amazing how these sites sell off for so much .. if the court case did not happen, the price would have been much lower.


  • Registered Users Posts: 20 dohertm2


    ...in the fiery furnaces of Hades!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH6WqDlhV6w


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,713 ✭✭✭Bonavox


    The Pirate Bay, wow!

    Didn't think anyone would buy that. Its gonna be a blow for P2P/torrent users anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 956 ✭✭✭steve_


    once demonoid stays where it is im happy. Looking forward to videobay though. I know its not torrents buy its the guys from piratebay allowing people to upload videos without worrying about copyrights


  • Registered Users Posts: 442 ✭✭STBR


    You guys do realize this deal isn't going ahead right?

    It was a publicity stunt for both companies.

    And TPB got paid. :D

    I love their business sense. :cool:


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