Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde was arrested late Saturday after being on the lam for nearly two years. One of the minds behind the popular-yet-tantalizingly-illegal file-sharing service had been set to serve jail time for copyright violations when he bolted.
Four men linked to Pirate Bay were originally sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of 32 million crowns ($4.8 million). An appeals court later reduced the prison sentences by varying amounts, but raised the fine to 46 million Swedish crowns ($6.9 million).
Sunde was arrested in southern Sweden, but he was thought to
be living in Germany the past few years. The name of his site, Pirate Bay, has become shorthand for digital piracy and the accompanying conversations about how artists and big businesses are impacted by internet sharing.
Somewhat fittingly (if you're willing to indulge in some armchair psychology), the blurriness of boundaries and borders, the ones breached by Pirate Bay and users meeting and operating around the world, have echoes in Sunde's biography. In an interview with a Swedish journalist just a few weeks ago, Sunde offered this insight:
In Sweden I
am considered the Finnish-Norwegian, in Norway Finnish-Swedish, and in Finland Swedish-Norwegian. I 've never really belonged anywhere."
Peter Althin, who defended Sunde during his trial, said this to a Swedish news site about Sunde and his work:
It's about being on the cutting edge if one is going to be successful... But if one is too far ahead it is not always about success. Peter fought for file-sharing and in 10 years I think it goes without saying that file-sharing for one's own needs will be allowed."
Nevertheless, as Sunde heads to jail for eight months, Pirate Bay continues to deliver music, movies, games, and other media to users who use the service, which is now based out of the Seychelles.