Google had the good idea to explain to the world how it’s different from The Pirate Bay. Weird enough, they did on the (official) italian blog, but not on the english official bog. At least, I couldn’t find any english version. Shall you be able to read the italian, here’s the original post. Otherwise: here’s the translation:

These days, following the condemning sentence emited in Swedish against the ownerst of The Pirate Bay, some paragons between The Pirate Bay and Google are circulating. We feel in need to say something about that.

The mission of Google is to index and make available all the informations present online, this regardless from the formats of the files put online. The formats of the files are not per se illecit, it’s the use you do of these that makes them so. For example, Google is like a Highway on which a lot of vehicles circulate (the contents); Google can’t be held liable if with one of this cars a crime is made, neither is the car per se.

To come towards the needs of the owners of intellectual property rights, Google thought to a set of procedures that allow to signale and remove the contents present on the search engine because of copyright violation. Regarding YouTube, instead, we developed with ContentID, a functionality that allows to content owners to monitor, manage and eventually block [the contents]. With ContentID, in fact, it’s possible to act on third-party loaded contents that violate your own Copyright right, not only blocking those contents, but also choosing to monetize them. An option choosen from the big majority of our partners, which highlights an evolution of the modalities of exesercize of the own right, in the direction of a new business model.

Our effort is even recognized from the rights owners. Indeed, a big number of clarifications about the differences between Google and Pirate Bay have been made by third parties these days. Just to cite some, we’d point out to John Kennedy, IFPI’s president, that clarificated this difference while testifiying at the Pirate Bay trial.
And in Italy Enzo Mazza, FIMI’s president, wrote on Punto Informatico: “assimilating Pirate Bay is instrumental because even a subject with little knowledge can notice the big differences. Shall we use simple terms Google is like the Yellow Pages with a list of the banks. The Pirate Bay instead is the accomplice that guards out of the bank while his accomplices steal the money. Google, just like YouTube, eBay and others, is active and solert in content removal on the rights owners segnalation, and operates in a contest that promotes the legitimate use of contents and disallows illecit uploads.“

Summary:

Someone at Google is pissing their pants.

• the file format thing can be said of The Pirate Bay as well
• The Pirate Bay has not the financial means to create a removal workflow like Google
• The Pirate Bay removes the contents, it just does when Police asks, as it should be. It doesn’t take the right to judge. Exactly as it should be.
• the quote of Mazza is just a black on white judgement, without any argument supporting his claims.
• everyone knows YouTube made his fortune closing a eye on illegal content, until it really was forced to remove it.
• misuse of google is easily done, and I can’t see Google be willing to stop that anytime. Now, mr Kennedy try to type Coldplay there. What do you get ? Or type coldplay torrent in google.

Differences may exist. But you seem not to know those.

Ultimately, that post is useful just to show the record labels that Google is their friend. And their FUD’s.

• the announced press conference took place. Questions were gathered directly from the net, both from journalists and from common people. That was a remote-only conference.
• the swedish Pirate Party saw an huge increment of subcribers. 3000 in a day ! The goal of having 1 deputy from them in the european parliament seems much more realistic, now. Backfire ?
• even a public protest in the street took place.
• also, investigations are starting about the leakage of the sentence.

The road is still long, Sweden has 3 grades of appeal, so it’s matter of 4-5 years of fight.

One underpublicized initiative, is a limited edition t-shirt from TPB, to honour (?) the verdict.

The t-shirt will ship starting from 27th april and titles “Swedish Internet Pirates vs US Copyright Lobbists”. It’s no wonder the funds will be used to sustain legal expences.

Should you want one, you can pre-order it here.

Bad news of the day (what else can you expect on friday 17th ?),

The Pirate Bay has been found guilty and Sunde, Neij, Svartholm and Lundström have been condemned to a 1 years in jail and pay $900.000 (each) of damages, for assisting in making copyright content available.

This is an historical sentence both for Sweden and the whole world, and will constitute a heavy precedent for every future trial of this kind.

Of course, the thing is not over. Piratbyrån will appeal to the high court, but it’s a sad news nevertheless.

Check the original article here, as it may get updated from time to time.

See some videos in response to the sentence from The Pirate Bay.