The Pirate Bay Co-Founder Arrested, Faces Prison

For months the trial of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has drawn worldwide attention to New Zealand, where Dotcom faces charges associated with the illegal distribution of copyright materials.

Now, The Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfried Svartholm has been arrested in Cambodia at the request of the Swedish government.

It was in 2003 that Svartholm and Fredrik Neji established the website The Pirate Bay. Their goal: to enable computer users all over the world to share large files, including movies, TV shows, and software programs -- many of them copyrighted.

Decade-Long Struggle Ends with Arrest

All this file transfer activity drew the attention -- and the ire -- of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), along with other copyright protection groups.

They all sought to shut The Pirate Bay down and prosecute those responsible for its creation and maintenance.

In recent years, those responsible for The Pirate Bay have struggled to keep the site running, even exploring the idea of setting up operations on small islands where legally shutting down their site's servers would prove extremely difficult.

That strategy failed, however.

In 2009, both Svartholm and Neji were put on trial in their native Sweden. Both were found guilty and received one-year sentences. Only Svartholm's prison term was not reduced after appeal. (Source: wsj.com)

Svartholm, who is 27 years old, fled Sweden to avoid that prison sentence, triggering an international warrant for his arrest. Cambodian officials executed that warrant last week, and took him into custody.

Cambodian police say they worked closely with the Swedish government to find and apprehend Svartholm. They plan to send him back to Sweden as soon as possible. (Source: cnet.com)

Prosecution of File-Sharing Site Founders Polarizes Web

Svartholm's case, like Dotcom's, has polarized onlookers. Many see the arrest of The Pirate Bay and Megaupload founders as acts of censorship, and actively support the men and work for their release from imprisonment.

Others, however, see little difference between real pirates and the people behind sites like The Pirate Bay and Megaupload.

"It is cheaper and easier to steal than to download legally," said Bjorn Ulvaeus, founder of the Swedish pop group ABBA. "Is it really so damn difficult to pay your way?" (Source: wsj.com)