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Sealand Won't Sell To Pirates
'Doesn't suit us at all,' says Prince Michael
As recently mentioned, the principality of Sealand (really just a rusting platform off the UK coast) is for sale. BitTorrent search website The Pirate Bay said they were considering buying it as an offshore data haven to avoid pesky legal problems, though it was more marketing than practical, since they'd never raise the needed $750 million. It looks like the current owner of Sealand, Prince Michael, isn't sold on the idea of selling to pirates anyway. "It’s theft of proprietary rights, it doesn’t suit us at all," he says. "In fact, I’ve written a book and Hollywood is making a movie out of it, so it would go right against the grain to go into the filesharing thing." The Pirate Bay claims they are eyeing other islands and micronations -- in order to gain more attention and please ad partners like Walmart.

Most recommended from 98 comments



dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 edit

6 recommendations

dadkins

MVM

Please, get it right if you want to preach!

[RANT]

DOWNLOADING whatever isn't a crime, UPLOADING/SHARING a copyrighted file is COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

As to the whole stealing argument, If I steal something from ...you, you will no longer have it! I will!

If I copy it, you still have the original so it's not stealing. It's copying! There is a difference.
Welcome to the Digital Age!

Walking into BestBuy and pocketing a CD then walking out with it - Stealing!
Seeing a file online somewhere and copying it - Copying!

While it is wrong to the Copyright holder, it's not stealing!

Ever rip a CD?
Have you then copied it to another device? To another computer?
Is the original still where you had it? I thought so.

Copying!
Now, lets make that connection a bit farther than a 6 foot CAT5... like from your house to my house.
Guess what... the original rip that you made will still be where you left it!
It's just that now I have a COPY of that same file. No stealing was involved.

Here's something that probably will irk a few of you.
I can download files from the mfgrs/distributors, whether they are audio files, video or applications/games.
Is that stealing as well?

I ask you, where do copyrights end?
Should I charge you royalties when you happen to hear music from my collection and send that to the RIAA?
Your ears are stealing something that you didn't pay for!

How about watching a DVD? Do you charge guests to watch a DVD at your house then send that money to the MPAA? I didn't think so!
You bad bad pirates you!

Ever let someone borrow a cassette/VHS/CD/DVD?
THAT is stealing too! Well, by your definition it is.

Now, WTF is the difference between me handing you a CD/DVD vs me uploading/letting you download it?

Don't give me this "because millions are downloading it" garbage either!
*NEVER* have I ever seen a million people downloading *ANY* file from me! PERIOD!
One - two - ten... perhaps. But not "millions"

*IF* I send you a file, that's the end of that as far as I am concerned. Just like letting you borrow a DVD. BFD... huh?

If YOU send that to 20 of your friends, that's on you!
If that dominoes into thousands(millions) of people ending up with that file, oh well!
*I* sent it to 1(one) person.

We won't get into the compressed files(MP3s/AVIs) vs original quality argument either. They aint the same as originals no matter what y'all have to say!
No way in Hell am I going to be sending/sharing full-on CDs/DVDs. I don't have the upstream for it!
HD DVDs? Blu-ray? Dream on! LMFAO!

[/RANT]

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

2 recommendations

FFH5

Premium Member

Pirate Bay should save money for defending lawsuits

Instead of buying an island somewhere, The Pirate Bay should save their money to defend themselves from the inevitable civil and criminal actions headed their way. They may need that money to keep themselves out of jail.