The Week in Your Words: A vast fine me hearties

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 17 Apr 2009 at 17:38

In a week that saw The Pirate Bay ripped apart by the legal sharks, the EU offer Microsoft a week-long lifeline and Street View sail through its own troubled waters, we take a look back to see what you've been saying.

Pirate Bay sunk in court case

You have to love the founders of Pirate Bay. After a month of quips and cheap gags, they've now been convicted of facilitating the spread of copyrighted material and sentenced to a year in prison - a verdict they cheerfully leaked about an hour before it was officially delivered. We only hope that sense of humour endears them to big Eddie and his tub of Vaseline when the cell doors slam shut.

"This will not really have much impact," reckons Amnesia10. "They have turned the Pirate Bay four into martyrs and the artists will now have to defend themselves against claims of greed. The fine will probably never be paid and as they are Swedish the prisons will be very much more comfortable than American ones."

Anybody else a little worried about Amnesia10's comparative knowledge of prisons?

"This is a terrible ruling," agrees colsmith whose preceding line we can't print, but left us crying in laughter. Go see. "I sincerely hope that someone takes up the mantle and decides to sue Google as a result. Not because of any real antipathy towards Google, but to make the point. Perhaps there is some 'level playing field' EU legislation that another torrent search site can use?"

manny_the_second was equally unimpressed: "They have been found guilty of 'being accessories to breaching copyright laws'. What sort of ridiculous offence is that? Will Bic get sued if I use one of its pens to write down some song lyrics on a piece of paper?"

EU grants Microsoft antitrust extension

This week saw the EU grant Microsoft another week to respond to its browser antitrust charges, not because Microsoft's done anything wrong but because the EC's top minds need more time to work out what the software giant's done wrong. They're vaguely certain the company's American, and so must have done something - but past that...

"Another extension? The EU are being way too flexible here, they should have made a decision by now based on the current Microsoft product offerings," says the no-nonsense mr_chips.

"The EU should keep its nose out," says steven_h1, waving his copy of the Daily Mail at the incoming ferries, presumably. "Do you see Firefox suffering or was anyone unable to install another browser because IE was on their computer? All the browsers are free so how can IE be harming the competition?"

"Who then says which browsers should be bundled? Microsoft, the EC?" Wonders hifidelity2. "If it leaves out browser X then why? Personally I think this whole browser issue is a total red herring."

Street View survives shut down demand

In a move that surprised precisely one, slightly skittish old woman in Cumbria, the Information Commissioner's Office has decided that Street View - Google's attempt to stalk an entire city at once - isn't actually violating the Data Protection Act. Privacy International, which brought the case, said it was "disappointed" by the verdict, before tapping its fake nose and clambering back into the the mailbox where it lives.