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[llien]

After reaching the conclusion that penalties in Sweden “appear to be low” when compared to those on the international stage, the government sought advice on how such crimes can be punished, not only more severely, but also in proportion to the alleged damage caused.

In response, Minister for Justice Heléne Fritzon received a report this week. It proposes a new tier of offenses with “special” punishments to tackle large-scale copyright infringement and “serious” trademark infringement.

Presented by Council of Justice member Dag Mattsson, the report envisions new criminal designations and crime being divided into two levels of seriousness.

“A person who has been found guilty of copyright infringement or trademark infringement of a normal grade may be sentenced to fines or imprisonment up to a maximum of two years,” the government notes.

“In cases of gross crimes, a person may be convicted of gross copyright infringement or gross trademark infringement and sent to prison for at least six months and not more than six years.”

Last year the Supreme Court found that although prison sentences can be handed down in such cases, there were no legislative indications that copyright infringement should be penalized via a term of imprisonment.

Under the new proposals, damage to rightsholders and monetary gain by the defendant would be taken into account when assessing whether a crime is “gross” or not. This raises the question of whether someone sharing a single pre-release movie could be deemed a gross infringer even if no money was made.

Also of interest are proposals that would enable the state to confiscate all kinds of property, both physical items and more intangible assets such as domain names. This proposal is a clear nod towards the Pirate Bay case which dragged on for several years before the state was able to take over its thepiratebay.se domain.

“Today there is organized online piracy that has major consequences for the whole community,” Minister Fritzon said in a statement.

“Therefore, it is good that the punishments for these crimes have been reviewed, as the sentence will then be proportional to the seriousness of the crime.”

The legislative amendments are proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2019.

torrentfreak

 

[Mohonky]

They'll never take me arrrrrrrrrr

 

[Corrik]

Damn. That is pretty wild. Do they clearly state what is piracy? I know a ton of people who think streaming illegal stuff is okay to do.

 

[Sinfamy]

The priorities.

 

[Mahadev]

Absolutely pathetic. The country keeps shifting closer towards neoliberalism every year, it obviously has a long way to go but bit by bit the population keeps getting screwed.

 

[KevinKeene]

Take down and punish the websites that everybody knows. It's asinine to punish individual people watching a stream that's easily available.

 

[lachesis]

I heard good things about their prison though...
https://mic.com/articles/109138/sweden-has-done-for-its-prisoners-what-the-u-s-won-t#.b8ZRCvTsJ

When I'm old and brittle, I might just do that. LOL. Heard a lot of Japanese older people commit petty crimes to get themselves into jail, where they can meet friends and have activities, free health care and all.
https://www.npr.org/sections/parall...-bars-japan-sees-rise-in-crime-by-the-elderly

Of course not my ideal retirement plan.. LOL.

 

[Xiaoki]

Take down and punish the websites that everybody knows. It's asinine to punish individual people watching a stream that's easily available.

So, just because these streams are easily available people should be completely absolved of their actions?
If someone watches a stream of a movie that just released in theaters they know full well what they are doing isnt right.

Its pretty easy to sneak into a theater during a movie so anyone that does it should not be punished.

 

[camelCase]

I don't see how this does much for the citizenry or the economy seeing as there probably aren't many domestic streaming / media delivery services in sweden

 

[KevinKeene]

So, just because these streams are easily available people should be completely absolved of their actions?
If someone watches a stream of a movie that just released in theaters they know full well what they are doing isnt right.

Its pretty easy to sneak into a theater during a movie so anyone that does it should not be punished.

Everybody knows these websites. I won't even debate this, pardon me. Shut down the websites if it's illegal. Fullstop.

It's not easy to sneak in in German movie theaters btw.

 

[Droxcy]

They'll never take me arrrrrrrrrr

Arrrrrr! If it wasn't for piracy all those years ago, I would've never gotten my Graphic Design skills to where they are now. Now I have paid for all my products, I mean there's a difference in my eyes for people using it to better themselves, or just doing it to be cheap and not giving two shits about developers. On the topic of 6 years in prison seems like a big waste of money and time.

 

[mr2xxx]

That’s terrible. Slow down their internet, remove their internet temporarily, plenty of ways to addresss this besides putting people in prison for downloading the latest GoT.

 

[Raynes]

Hahahahahaha good luck enforcing this assholes.

 

[TrainedRage]

I don't pirate stuff or 'steal' things so i'm fine with this. These people could use a kick in the ass to rearrange their moral compass. Go Sweden!!!

 

[Makariel]

So, just because these streams are easily available people should be completely absolved of their actions?

The punishment should suit the crime. Suggesting potential jail time for watching a stream is just silly. What's next, the death penalty for speeding?

 

[John Day]

Arrrrrr! If it wasn't for piracy all those years ago, I would've never gotten my Graphic Design skills to where they are now. Now I have paid for all my products, I mean there's a difference in my eyes for people using it to better themselves, or just doing it to be cheap and not giving two shits about developers. On the topic of 6 years in prison seems like a big waste of money and time.

Shit A-MEN! I developed my skills the same way too, and then upgraded the legal way by buying the suites and upgrades. I don’t excuse myself, no hypocresy- i did so because it was an easy option. It’s been years since i’ve worked on the field, but i’m looking forward to get back on it, even if buying piece by piece. Used Illustrator and Indesign more anyways.

 

[12Goblins]

That's kind of crazy, especially considering thats where Pirate bay is from and they seem very progressive

 

[bitbydeath]

I think the content should be made readily available before going this far so they at least have a legal option. Crazy talk I know...

 

[Mohonky]

I don't pirate stuff or 'steal' things so i'm fine with this. These people could use a kick in the ass to rearrange their moral compass. Go Sweden!!!

Sweden is proposing harsher sentences for copyright than returning ISIS members.

The world has gone nuts when thats the case.

 

[WaterAstro]

They're going to need to build several mega prisons when Game of Thrones is back.

 

[Greedings]

So, just because these streams are easily available people should be completely absolved of their actions?
If someone watches a stream of a movie that just released in theaters they know full well what they are doing isnt right.

Its pretty easy to sneak into a theater during a movie so anyone that does it should not be punished.

Maybe you've noticed that the punishment for sneaking into a theatre is getting kicked out the theatre. Not 6 years in gaol.

 

[TheShadowLord]

I weep for those pirates. Just look how torturous that cell is!

 

[KevinKeene]

I weep for those pirates. Just look how torturous that cell is!

Yeah, because prison should be about punishment instead of rehabilitation so they can return healthy to society once they served their time. Right, mr. USA?

:/

 

[TheShadowLord]

Yeah, because prison should be about punishment instead of rehabilitation so they can return healthy to society once they served their time. Right, mr. USA?

:/

If it makes you feel better, you will find Americans agreeing drug users should be rehabilitated. That's something, right?

 

[KevinKeene]

If it makes you feel better, you will find Americans agreeing drug users should be rehabilitated. That's something, right?

... what else could possibly done to them? Prison for life? Death penalty?

 

[Chinbo37]

I wish that the laws would evolve past "duh piracy is bad". There is no nuance or onus on the copyright holders to make content available let alone at a fair price. That second part I dont want to debate here but use this as an example.


I want to watch a movie, say an older movie that isnt available on any major streaming legal websites. The DVD is long out of print, definately not available new maybe a couple random copies on ebay but its no guarantee.

Should I be punished for downloading this movie and watching it?

 

[TheShadowLord]

I wish that the laws would evolve past "duh piracy is bad". There is no nuance or onus on the copyright holders to make content available let alone at a fair price. That second part I dont want to debate here but use this as an example.


I want to watch a movie, say an older movie that isnt available on any major streaming legal websites. The DVD is long out of print, definately not available new maybe a couple random copies on ebay but its no guarantee.

Should I be punished for downloading this movie and watching it?

what is stopping you from buying it used? or checking your local library's database?

 

[Chinbo37]

what is stopping you from buying it used? or checking your local library's database?

It's not readily available used. Yes it might pop up on eBay every once in a while but it's not like there are tons of copies being sold at one time. And its not at the library.

 

[Makariel]

what is stopping you from buying it used? or checking your local library's database?

I have looked for an old series recently and the only used DVD I find on ebay are region locked to a region my DVD Player won't accept. So, what now? Just accept that I find no way to watch this legally and risk jail if I try to circumvent the region lock?

 

[DonJimbo]

I want this in germany aswell its much better than a subcharge to pay

 

[TheShadowLord]

I have looked for an old series recently and the only used DVD I find on ebay are region locked to a region my DVD Player won't accept. So, what now? Just accept that I find no way to watch this legally and risk jail if I try to circumvent the region lock?

use something like makemkv to rip the dvd on to your computer as it would bypass the region lock restrictions. I did it when I got Shaolin Soccer for blu-ray because there was no North America version and the South Korean version was a little more expensive(and I was able to find someone in the US selling the UK version on ebay)

 

[Chinbo37]

use something like makemkv to rip the dvd on to your computer as it would bypass the region lock restrictions. I did it when I got Shaolin Soccer for blu-ray because there was no North America version and the South Korean version was a little more expensive(and I was able to find someone in the US selling the UK version on ebay)

This is all fine and good but lets be realistic here. What are we even talking about. Yes there is a law and techincally you arent breaking it by doing this, but dont you think at this point the law should be revisited? By doing this the copyright holder isnt even making any money because you are buying from a reseller or buying a used copy.

Wouldnt it be better to just say that if the films are not made reasonably available by the copyright holders then there should be no penalty for downloading it through other methods?

 

[Chairman Tickles]

Ah yes, this is what happens when nanny government gets out of control.

 

[Indrid Cold1]

Crazy. This is the country that is going to give a free house and benefit money to returning Isis Jihadis.

 

[Grinchy]

Their jails will soon be filled with people who pirated movies and tweeted about crimes that took place in front of them committed by a protected group. What a country.

 

[lifa-cobex]

The priorities.

They need to pirate some.

 

[RokkanStoned]

It's worse when you think that rapists and child molesters might get a shorter sentence than the worst pirates. Piracy should be focused on economical punishment, (if legal) restriction on internet usage and less on jail time (except ankle monitors), as it just puts additional drain on public spending.

 

[camelCase]

Their jails will soon be filled with people who pirated movies and tweeted about crimes that took place in front of them committed by a protected group. What a country.

What do you mean protected group? Like in UK where police are supposedly afraid to act against minority offenders b/c of being labeled racist?

 

[KonradLaw]

Sweden - a country where pirating stuff is lesser crime than rape. Nice