Pirate Party

Pirate Party Gains Second Seat in European Parliament

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 12:28pm.

Brussels - The Pirate Party, a political party centered on less-restrictive copyright schemes, has won its second seat in the European Parliament, TorrentFreak reported. Following the election of a Swedish Pirate Party candidate to a seat in the European Parliament in June, the signing of the Lisbon Treaty by all EU member states this week means that 22-year-old Swede Amelia Andersdotter will take the Pirate Party's second seat in Parliament.

Former German MP Joins Country's Pirate Party

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 28, 2009 - 10:41am.

Los Angeles - Herbert Rusche, a former member of the German Parliament and co-founder of that country's Green Party, has joined the Pirate Party, whose aim is to reinvent intellectual property and privacy laws for the digital age, TorrentFreak reported. Germany's Pirate Party already has one seat in the country's parliament, after Jorg Tauss left the Social Democrats party to join the Pirate Party. The Swedish Pirate Party is already represented in the European Parliament.

Pirate Party Gets Seat in Germany's Parliament

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2009 - 12:30pm.

Los Angeles - Following the election of a member of Sweden's Pirate Party to the European Parliament, Germany's PiratenPartei has gained its own seat in the German Federal Parliament, TorrentFreak reported. Citing "concerns about Internet censorship," Jorg Tauss -- who has been a member of Germany's parliament since 1994 -- left the Social Democrats Party to join the German Pirate Party.

Sweden's Pirate Party Wins Seat at European Parliament

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 8, 2009 - 7:42am.

Stockholm, Sweden - The Pirate Party, a political party founded in Sweden in 2006 to protest copyright laws, took 7.1% of the vote in the country's elections over the weekend, and won one of the country's 18 seats at European Parliament in Brussels, TorrentFreak reported. The Pirate Party more than doubled its membership to 40,000 in the wake of the conviction of the operators of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay in April, and the enactment of a new intellectual property law that gives copyright holders the right to unmask suspected file-swappers.

Poll: Sweden's Pirate Party Will Win EU Parliament Seat

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2009 - 10:42am.

Stockholm, Sweden - Sweden's Pirate Party, formed in the wake of law enforcement actions against file-sharing networks there, is expected to garner 5.1% of votes in the upcoming European Union election, according to a poll conducted by a Swedish newspaper, TorrentFreak reported. If the results of the poll are duplicated in the actual elections, the Pirate Party would get a set in the EU Parliament. "This poll confirms our recent phenomenal growth in support, and says there will be pirates in Brussels after this election," Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge told TorrentFreak.

Swedish Lawmakers Want ISPs to ID File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2008 - 8:29am.

Stockholm, Sweden - Culture and Justice ministers in Sweden have announced plans to introduce legislation that would force ISPs in the country to turn over the identities of suspected illegal file-swappers to copyright owners, the Associated Press reported.

Sweden's "Pirate Party" Influences Launch of U.S. Political Party

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 13, 2007 - 11:45am.

San Francisco - Sweden's Pirate Party, a grassroots political party started with the aim of changing intellectual property laws to lessen copyright powers, has seen its influence migrate overseas, as last week the Pirate Party of the United States announced its formation in Utah, CNET News.com reported.

Appellate Court Upholds Sweden's First File-Sharing Conviction

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 13, 2007 - 12:24pm.

Stockholm - The first Swede convicted of copyright infringement for illegal music file-sharing has lost his appeal before the country's Appellate Court, Reuters reported.

Sweden's Pirate Party Fails to Sway Voters in National Elections

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2006 - 6:38pm.

San Francisco - Sweden's Pirate Party failed to garner the 4% of votes in the country's national elections over the weekend that were necessary for a seat in Sweden's Parliament, Wired News reported. The political party was founded on a single issue -- copyright reform -- and gained much notoriety on the Internet following the Swedish government's attempts to shut down a popular Swedish file-sharing site called The Pirate Bay. While final vote counts aren't due until tomorrow, the Pirate Party currently claims 0.62% of the vote -- or 33,000 votes -- also shy of the 1% of votes necessary to obtain state assistance for future elections. Despite the disappointing results, the group plans to continue on. "Morale in the group is good and we are learning from this experience, as we are taking new aims for the European Union election in 2009 and the next Swedish election in 2010," Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge told Wired News.