The well publicized Pirate Bay trial ended last week with the torrent tracking site's four founders being found guilty of copyright offenses and sentenced to one year in prison each, along with $3.6 million in fines. Coming as no surprise to anyone, a retrial is being sought, but what is surprising is that the judge who was in charge of the case -- Thomas Norström -- is reportedly a member of the same copyright protection organizations as some of the main entertainment industry representatives.
"I will point that out in my apeal, then the Court of Appeal (Hovrätten) will decide if the district court decision should be set aside and the case revisted," said Peter Althin, the lawyer who represents Pirate Bay spokesperson Peter Sunde.
Norström isn't denying the reports that he's involved in copyright organizations, but says this did not sway his decision one way or the other in the trial. He added, "My view has been that these activities do not constitute a conflict of interest."
Did the Pirate Bay defendants receive a fair trial? Hit the jump and post your thoughts.
Links:
[1] http://www.maximumpc.com/user/paul_lilly
[2] http://www.thelocal.se/19028.html
[3] http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/is-a-pirate-bay-retrial-looming--594062
[4] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/the_pirate_bay_verdict_guilty_with_jail_time_and_36m_fines
[5] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/closing_arguments_presented_pirate_bay_trial
[6] http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/pirate_bay_trials_sails_swedish_court_today
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[10] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/pirate_bay
[11] http://www.maximumpc.com/tags/retrial
[12] http://www.maximumpc.com/articles/news
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