Swedish Police Set Up A Special Force To Prop Up Hollywood's Business Models

from the but-why? dept

Just as the US gets its own special "piracy police" in the Justice Department, it looks like Swedish police have put together something similar, with specific police tasked with investigating unauthorized file trading and copyright infringement, teamed up with some prosecutors to help bring cases. Of course, at worst, these should be civil issues decided between private companies and individuals, and at best, the industry should learn to adapt already, as plenty of participants have.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, police, sweden


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. icon
    Ima Fish (profile), 16 Feb 2010 @ 5:31am

    "the industry should learn to adapt already..."

    Mike, what somebody should do and what they will do are two entirely different things. As I've said before, when a company has a government granted monopoly they do not understand how a free market capitalist system works. They don't now how to change to the marketplace, how to set prices, how to make a better product to serve their customers. They live off their government monopoly like a parasite lives off its host.

    When the copyright industry is faced with competition it sues. If it is not legally capable of suing, it has the laws changed so it can sue. If that's not enough, it demands government protection of its government granted monopoly.

    The copyright industry is utterly convinced that its monopolies are more important than any right we as citizens might have. If you think the drug war back in the 80s and 90s was ridiculous for putting relatively innocent people in prison, the upcoming war on IP infringement will be 100 times worse.

    People will be incarcerated, families will be bankrupted, and lives will be ruined. All for the protection of Disney and Viacom's monopolies.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2010 @ 6:01am

    http://www.amazon.com/Cornered-Monopoly-Capitalism-Economics-Destruction/dp/0470186380/ref=sr_1_1?ie =UTF8&s=books&qid=1266328759&sr=8-1

    What if this sort of thing was happening in every industry, and technology has only revealed it in the content industry. What would that mean for future turmoil in the American economy?

    I've been interested in reading this book, but I haven't had a chance to get to it yet.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    Overcast (profile), 16 Feb 2010 @ 7:16am

    To prove this is a stupid concept.. just at one example:

    "Time magazine added Zuckerberg as one of The World's Most Influential People of 2008. He fell under the Scientists & Thinkers category for his web phenomenon, Facebook, and ranked 52 out of 101 people[5] As of January 2010 Zuckerberg is the youngest self-made businessman worth more than a billion dollars.[6]"

    I have one simple question: how much go you pay for Facebook?

    And another, how much do you pay for Google?

    Why is it that these two sites, are probably the most successful sites out there, and are literally worth BILLIONS.. but the users don't pay?

    Odd, huh?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Overcast (profile), 16 Feb 2010 @ 7:18am

    So keep your old model - old Industry, but please move the hell out of the way for the business of the future.

    Simply... we need NEW artists that will participate in a NEW way of doing business in the music industry.

    Google's been around 1% of the time most major record labels have been and if it's not worth as much as they are now, it's gotta be close.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    ant anti mike, 16 Feb 2010 @ 7:34am

    when will someone die

    for all there doing when will someone die because there spending all this on imaginary property

    rise up against the tyranny

    as johhny cash would say
    i hear the train a comin
    and i aint seen the sunshine since i dont know when
    im stuck in folsom prison
    and time keeps draggin on
    but that train keeps a rolling on down to san antone
    when i was just a baby
    my momma told me son
    always be a good boy
    dont ever play with guns
    but i shot a man in reno
    just to watch him die
    but i hear that whistle blowin
    i hang my head and die

    ( ya know the live version played at folsom prison )
    read and listen to those words
    ...
    i bet theres rich folks eaten from a fancy dinning car
    there prolly drinkin coffee and smokin big cigars
    i know i had it coming i know i cant be free
    those p[people keep a movin and thats what soldiers me

    now think

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2010 @ 7:40am

    Re:

    If you think the drug war back in the 80s and 90s was ridiculous for putting relatively innocent people in prison, the upcoming war on IP infringement will be 100 times worse.
    -------
    When did it end? It's still a felony in my state to even have a seed of marijuana on you. Until they start locking up masses of file sharers it will never compare to our ridiculous war on drugs.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    December Advocate (profile), 16 Feb 2010 @ 7:42am

    im getting bored

    i have a great image in my mind of a big media building saying "closed due to bankruptcy" and a very posh, very new looking building next door owned by the big media's legal teams. it is clear to me that the big media is being misled. the lawyers are basically parasitizing their money away in legal fees. all that money that was spent to sue Jammie Thomas isnt going to be recovered because she doesnt have the money to pay it. this means that although they won in principle (albeit on a technicality) they havent actually won. and so we wait for the inevitable crumbling of the big media. also, as mike would say: "how is any of this going to make people buy CDs?" PS. this is my first post but i have been reading for years. damn good site you have here. :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    Overcast (profile), 16 Feb 2010 @ 9:03am

    If you think the drug war back in the 80s and 90s was ridiculous for putting relatively innocent people in prison, the upcoming war on IP infringement will be 100 times worse.
    -------
    When did it end? It's still a felony in my state to even have a seed of marijuana on you. Until they start locking up masses of file sharers it will never compare to our ridiculous war on drugs.


    Yep and the 'corporate prisons' will profit significantly. They are already corporitized to a sickening level and the U.S. has more people incarcerated than *ANY* nation in the world.. I guess Sweden's jealous.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.