Swedish software company Global Gaming Factory AB shocked the tech world Tuesday when the developer of software to manage Internet cafes announced an agreement to buy file-sharing service The Pirate Bay for 60 million Swedish crowns ($7.7 million). The transaction is scheduled to be closed in August 2009. The Pirate Bay confirmed the news via its own blog and through other outlets.
While the acquirer was a surprise, the sale of The Pirate Bay is not a surprise given the legal quagmire its founders face following a lawsuit brought against them from the music and movie industries. In April, The Pirate Bay's founders, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström, were sentenced to a year in jail and a fine of $3.6 million for running the site, which helps Internet users locate music, movie and other files on the Internet. In fact, the press release announcing the deal states The Pirate Bay is one of the 100 most visited Web sites in the world.
As a result of the legal mess, GGF announced that The Pirate Bay requires a new business model to placate the court ruling against the founders. The creators of The Pirate Bay had already taken a step in that direction only a day earlier when they announced plans to launch a video-sharing site akin to Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) YouTube.
Despite Global Gaming Factory's plans to uphold the court order concerning copyrights, its own Web site may be breaking copyright laws. Plastered all over the site are unattributed images taken from Microsoft Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MSFT) "Halo" games. - Matthew Wurtzel
Continue reading below
