Jonathan Bailey's List: Episode 109

• The lawsuit was filed jointly in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and attorneys representing OdioWorks, the small Herndon, Va., company that runs Bluwiki. The lawyers argue that the iPodhash discussions were about reverse-engineering software, not breaking copy protection, and want a court ruling to clarify the matter.
• Developers reverse-engineered Apple's checksum mechanism, but in late 2008 the company introduced a new version of the crypto-technique with its iPod Touch and iPhone products. That's what was being discussed when Apple filed its takedown notice.
• However, in a Dec. 17 letter to the EFF, Apple's law firm said that the EFF is "mistaken" to assume that this technology is only used to authenticate the iTunes software. The work also threatens Apple's FairPlay copy-protection system, the letter states.

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• Who paid for the lawyers? The older (and much richer) defendant Carl Lundström apparently paid for his own lawyer, but the three Pirate Bay admins did not. Their lawyers were all supplied and eventually paid for by the Swedish government, and they weren't cheap. Fredrik Neij's lawyer, for instance, was given 949,025 kronor (about $115,600) for his services; 35,525 kronor of that amount was given for "time wasted."
• On moving to Argentina or Russia. As it became clear that Sweden might not be the best long-term base for The Pirate Bay, Carl Lundström explored the possibility of moving the site to Russia or Argentina—and he asked the Swedish Embassy for help.
• Legal advice. Why the interest in getting out of Sweden? A new copyright law came into effect in 2005, and Lundström worried that it would make the site illegal. "Carl Lundström contacted a lawyer," says the verdict. "Following discussions with his legal representative, he e-mailed Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and mentioned that as of 1 July 2005, the operation would be unlawful and that they should, therefore, consider relocating the operation to another country."
• "In accordance with what will be further demonstrated below, all the defendants were aware that a large number of the website’s users were engaged in the unlawful disposal of copyright-protected material. By providing a website with advanced search functions and easy uploading and downloading facilities, and by putting individual filesharers in touch with one other through the tracker linked to the site, the operation run via The Pirate Bay has, in the opinion of the District Court, facilitated and, consequently, aided and abetted these offences."

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