1. If they’ve been trying to run this deal for “years”, then that makes me sorta worried about what their original intention with TPB was, from the beginning. I’ll (probably) read the interview later, but, by the same token, they can SAY a lot of things, but that doesn’t stop the new owners from taking TPB in a different direction. (Contrast the REAL Mp3.com of bygone years, with the corporate-funded shitsmear it’s become.
Or, for that matter, the “New” Crapster — I mean Napster. (God, what a piece of crap THAT is.)

2. I might be kinda paranoid here, but this whole thing smacks of a really elaborate ploy:
First the TPB guys get themselves looking extremely badass and “anti-establishment” by utterly refusing to “play nice” and comply with takedown notices. (REALLY solid move, from a “copyfighter” perspective, but when you look at the “bigger picture”, kinda hollow.

Then, after they basically get declared the “flagship” of torrent indexers and the MOST utterly-hardcore about standing up to the bullshit, we find out that the Swedish government doesn’t think that judge was “biased”, even though he’s a member of a lot of pro-copy”right” groups. Methinks maybe the trial was possibly NOT about “stopping piracy” so much as just drumming up publicity and good feelings for TPB. (Which they succeeded in doing.)

3. Now, we hear that they’re selling TPB to some “gaming” company (or at least it has “gaming” in it’s name), and the first thing out of the new owners’ mouths is about “stopping today’s pirates”. It’s also at least somewhat dismaying that they explicitly mention “copyright holders” as a seperate category from “content providers”.

So, to put it bluntly, it really looks like TPB is — or at least might be — a repeat of KaZaa (big damn honeypot for “Big Media”.)

Somehow this doesn’t surprise me if the TPB guys want to take the money and run, while the REAL TPB is destroyed to make way for more lobotomized, corporate crap. I mean, look at Fanning — first, he creates Napster, then he takes the money and runs, THEN he creates that Snocap thing, explicitly marketed as something to protect “Rights-holders”.

So, sad as it is to say, TPB is probably irretrievably fucked — but the TPB guys managed to cash in, and — like we all figured — they probably won’t even face jail-time after the appeals process. We’ll have fairly conclusive evidence if the “legal problems” start going away really easily.

Sad to say, but a lot of the biggest names in the “copy-fight” scene look to be sellouts.

But, like other folks have said, the “war” will go on — TPB replaced other stuff, and other stuff will undoubtedly replace TPB.

(On the — potential — bright side, the New owners might actually deploy “business models” that aren’t total shit — such as promoting “permissive” licenses like the GPL and Creative Commons. At least that will have SOME use as a hosting/distribution platform, even if one that’s deliberately been “de-fanged”.

In any case, ultimately, TPB is just a torrent tracker. There are other torrent trackers out there. Contrary to what the MAFIAA (and even many of those that fight them) may believe, the elimination of the Pirate Bay will not stop or even curtail their so-called “piracy.”

byo & stw

Looks like another bookmarked torrent site I’m going to have to delete. I
did however keep Mininova as there is still a lot of content they are not filtering.

http://www.whatsnext.se/2009/06/30/podcast-with-peter-sunde-on-the-ggfs-accquisition-of-the-pirate-bay/

Cheers!

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/8wwkp/they_they_sold_the_pirate_bay/c0aow1t

Yeah, right. Stupid fuck.

So, a very bright move!

How many users are now back stabbed by Peter? Seriously…

This is fucking redicolous.

Goodbye Pirate bay.