back to article 100 freetards an hour join Pirate Party UK

The Pirate Party UK has been all but swamped by interest shown since they registered as an official political party last month, its leader claimed this week. Andrew Peter Robinson, party leader, told The Register: "It has exceeded all expectations. Put it this way, donations have been coming in so fast that PayPal were …

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  1. Ru

    Non-starter...

    I'm hazarding a guess that the sort of person most likely to proclaim their support for the party is also the sort of person who either a) can't vote or b) is far too apathetic or lazy or disorganised to vote.

    Expecting something *from* a freetard aside from whining is a bit of a longshot, to say the least.

  2. Matthew Ellen
    Thumb Up

    Good luck to them

    If they are able to bring copyright laws into the public eye in a constructive way then I'm all for them.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Pirates ahoy!

    They've got my vote! Enough with this surveillance society!

  4. King Edward I
    Stop

    Whilst...

    Most of there members are undoubtedly the "freetards" of which you speak, I wouldn't be suprised to see a fair amount of support for them on our dear el reg.

    Why? Well they campaign on issues we like to moan about on here, specifically: "We want a patent system that doesn't stifle innovation or make life saving drugs so expensive that patients die."

    and

    "End the excessive surveillance, profiling, tracking and monitoring of innocent people by Government and big businesses."

    and

    "Ensure that everyone has real freedom of speech and real freedom to enjoy and participate in our shared culture."

    So yah. a (mostly) single issue party I actually agree with. What a novelty :)

  5. Moss Icely Spaceport
    Pirate

    Avast!

    Who ever heard o votin' fa Pirates?

  6. The BigYin

    Hmm...

    Will they campaign to remove region blocking on DVDs? This is an utter pain in the particulars when you have bought a legit DVD, want to use it in a legit player and the effing thing says "No". Keep the encoding/branding so people can choose what language they want, but do not block me for playing it!

    (My old PC was hacked to get around this, my xBox is hacked for the same reason and then new PC will be hacked if it ever becomes an issue. I buys DVDs, I don't use torrents, and this locking pisses me off).

    I'd also like to see the European trade restrictions torn up. If CD-Wow (or whoever) can get a legit CD/DVD from Hong Kong to me for less than I can buy it in the EU, then CD-Wow is not at fault. The companies in the EU are obviously running some kind of cartel/price protection racket. Just a shame that the EU does not have balls to take them to task.

    Oh, and if they propose total transparency and accountability for MPs/MEPs expenses, along with requiring the EU to have their accounts properly audited and signed off without interference; then they may just get my vote (if they have a candidate in my area).

    Seems like the public are getting fed up with the repulsive shenanigans of the political elite - the "Vote for a change" site is another sign of that.

  7. This post has been deleted by its author

  8. 4a$$Monkey
    Coat

    Wrong type of pirate

    I'll put my tricorne away then :o(

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well they aren't the big 3 nor the BNP...

    So they will get my vote.

  10. Seán

    yayy

    The most important thing in politics above all else is Slogans. So here's a theme the i in iTunes, iPod etc stands for indentured, so let's end indentured music and indentured artists.

  11. Sean O'Connor 1
    FAIL

    No thanks

    As an "artist" writing and selling computer games I can't imagine anything more catastrophic than it becoming legal to copy and distribute freely anything I create. I'd never bother writing anything again. And if record companies are offering artists such a bad deal the artists could always bypass them and use that Internet thing to do their own sales. But they don't because they make more money by using a record company.

  12. Lionel Baden

    where is linky so i may make it 101 !!!

    would of been usefull to link in article now i have to go google it

    thnx !!

  13. dunncha
    Thumb Up

    Pirate Party in the UK would i vote for them

    Probably.

    Who else are you going to Vote for NuLabadore.

    Tories?

    BNP

    Socialist Alternative.

    Of course the danger is all these splinter parties may divert votes away from the real alternative party. 'Monster Raving Loonies'

  14. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge
    Pirate

    Good piece...

    but where is the button for us to press to contribute or join?

  15. Anders Jensen
    FAIL

    Freetards?!

    A day at John Oates home when the gov is installing the new camera in his bedroom

    "Sir, we have decided it is best for you if we know everything going on in your bedroom"

    "It is for your own good sir, you do not know what's good for yourself anymore"

    "SIR, PLEASE LET US DO THIS OR WE'LL BE FORCED TO ARREST YOU, we can also see you were surfing porn yesterday from 11:23 to 11:56, that's 3 minutes too much, which is unacceptable"

    It's not about piracy for some of us, but you have to join causes to reach a goal.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    For fucking fuck's sake

    Their manifesto, if that is what you can call it, has three policies:

    1) Reform of copyright and patent law

    2) End excessive surviellence

    3) Ensure everyone has true freedom of speech

    It's not exactly comprehensive - I really don't know where to start on all the stuff that's missing, so I had a look at the tory's web site (I'm not one of them by the way!) Some things they are missing policies on:

    Business, Community Relations, Countryside, Climate Change and Energy, Crime and Justice, Culture, Media and Sport, Defence, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Europe, Family, Foreign Affairs, Health, Housing, Immigration, International Development, Local Government, National Security, Schools, Transport, Universities and Skills, Voluntary Sector, Welfare and Pensions, Women.

    Basically they want to justify their copyright theft and sponging of other's hard work and tart it up with two other generic policies to get a few other people on side.

    Oh and I don't believe 100 new members an hour at all. If you want to effect real change in the system, join a party, become an activist or write to your MP.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Pay people for their work, freeloaders

    I'm sorry, but 'politicising' the fact that you steal copyrighted material that people have worked hard to produce does not legitimise the fact that you are a THIEF. If you labour under the misapprehension that those involved are filthy rich and 'won't notice' the loss in royalties then you are bitterly wrong and misinformed - it's the 'small' folk behind the scenes that suffer. Would you go to work and expect not to get payed for it? Pull the other one, it's got a price tag on it.

    Still, for those that cannot suppress their inner pikey, go ahead - steal someone's livelihood and try to spearhead your deplorable attitude into politics. You won't look ridiculous among your more informed / intelligent peers AT ALL.

    I'm off to champion my 'Burglary UK' party - we're out to push our 'it's OK to break into people's houses' manifesto. I know there are at least 100 people out there that will join every hour, now.

    Pfff.

  18. ElNumbre
    Thumb Up

    BetFred?

    I wouldn't mind placing a bet that they could win a seat!

    The big 2 are all inept corrupt inglurious barsterds.

    The liberals are far from that.

    Unless your a hippie or a racist, you've got nothing. Myself and at least 5 of my friends are considering a vote for them, depending on how their manifesto pans out...

  19. Paul Smith
    Coat

    raison d'etre

    "apart from wanting to legalise non-commercial file sharing"

    Huh? It is already legal. The music industry is attemping to criminalise it, but they have not completly succeded yet.

    Mines the one with WTF on the back.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Ahhh me hearties

    But tell me how does a pirate type with a hook?

    Wait a sec - What do you mean not that type of pirate...?

  21. Alex 32
    Thumb Up

    Stop! Carry on..

    @ King Edward I

    Glad it's not just me thinking about all the stuff they can help with, rather than just films and music! Nice one :o)

    @Fraser

    I see where you are coming from. I think it's more along the lines of just getting a seat or two, rather than running for Government. If they had one or two seats, they can bring parliamentary proposals to the floor. Doubt they will topple any of the majority parties very soon.

    At any rate, it's a good thing because it allows the voice of the freetards. Freedom of speach and all that..

  22. David 30

    @Fraser

    "Some things they are missing policies on: <biglonglist>"

    That's OK - they can always make like the tories and make 'em up as and when they're asked about them, to suit whoever's asking.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Freetards or not

    they'll get my vote. I've been looking for an alternative to all the usual suspects for some time.

    @Fraser et al - get this through your thick skulls :

    + Copyright infringement is not theft, it is copyright infringement.

    + It is not illegal, it is unlawful.

    If you don't know the difference, look it up you ignorant commentards. Until you learn the difference, nobody is going to listen to your impotent keyboard rage.

  24. SuperTim
    FAIL

    Irony....

    When someone shares the list of people who have joined (as is inevitible) then the police will have plenty of houses to rifle through for evidence of music theft.....

    The very people who want protection will subject themselves to the scrutiny they are trying to avoid.

  25. mmiied

    re:Non-starter..

    the reasion most pepol of the soret who would suport the pirate party are apathic is they see all the major partys troting out the same retrotic if this gets them intrested they I say full sail to them

    @Fraser

    there manifesto is still a work in progress they will fill out the rest of there policies in due corse and I have see pepol get elected on worse manifestos (the "save our hosptile" pepol")

    and

    "If you want to effect real change in the system, join a party, become an activist or write to your MP."

    I bleve that joining the pirate party donating mony or campining and voteing for them counts as all what you said there

    in the main I rember this form a campain add "56% of pepol said they would vote for us if they thought it would not be a wasted vote if they did vote for is it WOULD NOT be a wasted vote" you do not have to vote for the big 2 partyes you have a choice

  26. King Edward I
    Go

    @AC (08:39)

    The Pirate Party UK has nothing to do with the pirate bay, or even the Swedish Pirate Party (apart from communication through the international pirate party site). Therefore they also have nothing to do with Lundström.

    I joined. Might even consider standing if they need someone where-ever I'm living (but my terminal fear of talking to people offline might put that one on hold!).

  27. Tom 106

    @ Fraser

    It always annoys me when people think that a political party should be voted in on the basis that they advertise themselves as having new inept policies for all Government depts and the countries facilities. When in reality all a party is advertising is, what they intend to spend our taxes on. Same old merry go round of "anything they can do, we can do just as costly".

    It's time for ALL political parties to stop meddling in Government depts and thinking that IT IS A MUST to change and introduce other ways in doing stuff which will basically cost us the public by way of tax rises and a higher cost of living, and don't believe the hype that change is about reducing the costs of bureaucracy, because the only way any politician knows how to do that is too make job cuts and increase the dole queue.

    Admittedly, this Black Beard party that's popped up on our shores could do with a some new ideas to add to their way of thinking. Perhaps they ought to thing Green, and show more Liberalism and you never know, they may just get one seat somewhere, and if people vote for them instead of the likes of Nucheka and Tory, then good on 'em.

  28. blackbeard
    Big Brother

    0.o

    Personally I feel there are serious problems with the privacy laws in this country. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers act(2000) is been misused daily and The European Convention of Human Rights (article 8) is been genuinely ignored. Nobody seems to have noticed and others just simply don't care....

    If that makes me a Freetard in your eyes then I can think of another few words to describe your Idiocracy.

  29. David Hicks
    Pirate

    @Fraser

    Yes, they're a single issue party who don't expect to get into power, of course they have narrow aims. DUH!

    As for these sections - Business, Community Relations, Countryside, Climate Change and Energy, Crime and Justice, Culture, Media and Sport, Defence, Democracy, Economy, Environment, Europe, Family, Foreign Affairs, Health, Housing, Immigration, International Development, Local Government, National Security, Schools, Transport, Universities and Skills, Voluntary Sector, Welfare and Pensions, Women.

    Well, let's get rid of half of them anyway. Why the hell the Tory party is involved in "Community Relations", "Culture", "Media and Sport", "Family" and various other of those sections is a mystery to me.

    Less government is good government.

    And to all the moaners - I don't give a stuff about your music or software, I'm not copying it or buying it, but I think my generation cares about the surveillance society, the handing of rights and laws to the corporate masters of IP and the suppression of technology (legitimate or otherwise) to support business interests.

    It's time for the pendulum to swing back the other way for a while.

    Avast!

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Really?

    No other party to vote for than these? Try the UK Libertarian Party. Has the patents/surveillance/freedom of speech things covered...and quite a bit more besides.

    Income tax replaced with consumption tax? Check.

    Voucher system for benefits? Check.

    Voucher system for health and education? Check.

    Few laws as possible? Check.

    Points based immigration? Check.

    Energy independence? Check.

    Believe me people, there are alternatives.

  31. Spider
    FAIL

    @Fraser

    "Some things they are missing policies on: <biglonglist>"

    Yeah, like the current crop of scum. They really stuck to their manifesto commitments didn't they?

  32. Jacqui Smith's DVD Collection!
    Thumb Up

    The more parties the better

    Lets have a coalition of smaller parties so Parliament is forced to discuss policy rather than just push thru the decisions of a few, I'll not be joining but would donate.

    FFS update the story with a link.

  33. Bilgepipe
    FAIL

    @AC @ 09:57 GMT

    "Copyright infringement...is not illegal, it is unlawful."

    Err, dude, check your dictionary:

    "Definition of unlawful

    un⋅law⋅ful

    /ʌnˈlɔfəl/ [uhn-law-fuhl]

    –adjective

    1. not lawful; contrary to law; illegal."

    As in, unlawful = illegal and vica versa.

  34. Shakje
    Stop

    @Fraser

    So presumably you believe that:

    a) The Tories will actually honour all of those policies

    b) you agree with all those policies

    Just having policies on lots of things doesn't make a party a better party to vote for, otherwise you're legitimising the BNP and UKIP.

  35. Peter Hewitt-Dutton
    FAIL

    95%

    As someone who works in a rapidly shrinking music industry I can say with confidence that labels do not take 95% of the revenue from a CD sale. 40% at most, but then who do you think pays for the recording process and marketing of music???

    I agree with the programmer who said he'd stop, why should he spend years working on something for it to be taken. It is theft, and is illegal (not unlawful).

    The day everyone works for free, piracy will be legal.

  36. Mark 29
    Pirate

    Prepare for Boarding, me hearties!

    @Fraser/ Anonymous: They do not necessarily need a complete agenda, just an issue on which to campaign. St Joanna of Lumley would probably get elected anywhere she chose without a complete agenda for supporting the Gurkhas and kicking Gordon Brown in the political nuts.

    I wrote to Dave "Vote for Me" Cameron on the issue of copyright, and won't be voting Conservative as a result of their response.

    Copyright in terms of its duration, has become an obscenity. If I invent a drug which saves the world from AIDs or Pandemic 'flu, I get 20 years of patent protection to get rewarded. I do not see why musicians and publishers should get longer, especially as only the fractional percentage of extremely successful artists get any significant benefit after this time.

    I also suspect that they'll reduce or strictly limit penalties with respect to "not for profit" infringement. Cassette tapes used to be regularly swapped and copied amongst friends, yet record and CD sales didn't disappear, and only commercial copiers were pursued and punished. I see no reason why the same should not happen in the digital age

  37. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    BNP

    How the BNP manages to create a political party and actually win seats beggars belief.

    Surely no-one can fault the Pirate Party when you have the BNP around?

  38. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Regarding Copyright.....

    Unauthorized use of a copyrighted work is wrong, period. Having said that, I do believe that the current copyright law does allow for an unreasonably long period of time before expiry. Do we really need to extend copyright protection beyond 25 years?

  39. cookieMonster Silver badge
    Go

    @mmiied

    I think there may be something wrong with your keyboard.

  40. D 13

    We need a ninja party

    to act as the official opposition. If the news carried daily reports of Pirates vs Ninjas, more people would take an active interest in politics.

  41. Fragula
    Thumb Up

    Arrr!

    Where do I sign up???

  42. Paul M.
    FAIL

    Massive Fail - but keep it up guys

    Is mmied a typical member?

    Can't spell, can't think - I can't wait to see all these nerds on TV. Especially mmied!

  43. Paul M.
    Megaphone

    Free sweets, too.

    @Sean

    "So here's a theme the i in iTunes, iPod etc stands for indentured, so let's end indentured music and indentured artists."

    I want free sweets.

    And free crisps.

    And free choccy bars.

    Nothing short of the Complete Abolition of Sweetshops, Newsagents, Kiosks at Railway Stations etc will do.

  44. Trinity
    Pirate

    And why not?

    Enough pirates in the House already - an official party could be regarded as a long-awaited move towards MP honesty...

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ all the @me

    If the Pirate Party get a seat or two, they will be expected to perform their duties as an MP, not just bang on about their three policies. Being an MP is hard work, it's not all sponging off the state there is a hell of a lot of representation of constituents to do.

    Copyright infringement, Copyright theft, I really don't care what you want to call it; illigal or unlawful I really don't give a shit, it's stealing, dress it up with any words that you want, but it's still stealing. Steal if you want to, but don't try to justify it, I have done it myself in the past and I don't try to dress it up with words to make myself feel better about it, it's wrong.

    If the troys, labour or lib dems make up their policies on the spot, at least it's recorded in their published manifesto so you can see if they are doing this.

    Yes, you could effect some change by working for the pirate party,or any other single issue party, or you could work within an established party with proper fleshed out policies to effect change of many people's thinking. Single issue parties are generally very bad for democracy because there aren't the skills within that party to handle the rest of politics.

    If the PP are going to flesh out their policies over the next few weeks/months I'd like to see what else they have to say on other matters, I suspect we won't hear that much though.

  46. CD001

    *sigh*

    crap - just when it looked like the PPUK was having some reasonably sensible ideas (proportional representation, scrapping ID cards and the underlying database and patent reform to prevent "trolling") - some semi-literate school leaver comes along and says "yay I R Votin 4 PPUK ... wen iz old nuff" and all of the anti-PPUK rhetoric seems horribly justified.

  47. Andy ORourke
    Joke

    @ Fraser @ David 30

    It's OK, the "Pirate" party, dont need their own manifesto, they can simply download a copy from one of the oppositions web sites..........

  48. Olof P

    As a Swede, what they did was get many of the "apathetic" people to vote

    That's why a) they got into the EU parliament and b) several groups there wanted to associate with them because they had massive numbers among young voters.

  49. mystra
    Thumb Up

    Argh

    Something like this needs to be done in America. I applaud these guys for realizing they probably aren't going to get anywhere but at least they're wise enough to realize this. The issues will at least have a chance to be discussed now.

    I'm a musician and the first thing I do with new music is get it out there any way possible. Eventually downloaders find me and I make some money. IMO that is the way things need to work and I think it's a viable solution if done correctly.

  50. Sabine Miehlbradt
    Pirate

    Pirateparty experiences from Germany

    In Germany we have had the pirate party (PP) for the European elections as well as the general elections at the end of September coming.

    In the European elections, the PP got .9%, not bad for a first timer. Oddly enough, the mainstream media kept mum about that result as long as possible. When we got the exit polls and projections during the evening, only the major parties where listed not as usual the "other parties". News only told us that the feared "move to the right" - that is neonazi parties gaining votes - had not happened.

    The PP was mentioned in the mainstream newsmedia a few days later as a party of fools and freetards wishing to download media for free. No mention of privacy rights, transparent government, internet censorship or citizen's rights at all.

    Then our dear family minister and Mutterkreuzträgerin Ursula von der Leyen started her project for internet censorship which got a massive backlash, first from the "internet community" and then from parts of the general public and some mainstream media. Of course, all experts' opinions were discounted and those petitioning against the law where termed sympathetic to child pornographers by our minister of commerce. The law has been passed with some last millisecond amendments but will not come into force before the general election as said minister of commerce has arranged for it to be held up by the EU. It is expected that our constitutional court will demolish this law once they have finished with a few others currently in the pipeline, for instance the Federal trojan and secret home search powers for police.

    The PP are still displayed as a bunch of ridiculous incompetent freetards by print and tv media.

    However both the reigning grand coalition and opposition have picked up the theme of the internet.

    The coalition says: The internet is a lawless place and needs to be regulated for your own good. German laws apply to people on the internet as well as offline and this has been mentioned to our politicians but neither they nor our German equivalent of the Daily Fail (Bild) have so far acknowledged the fact. Every week or so some politician or interested group demands extension of the anti-pedo censorship to their own pet peeve. Of course this is what von der Leyen distinctly said would not happen and anyone who says so is just a doomsayer.

    The opposition says: if we are elected, we will do away with this at once. Unfortunately, nobody takes them serious as they are small parties who have been known to fall over whenever the big dogs bark. After all, a cushy position for an old party solider is much more important than the rights of the great unwashed, be reasonable now.

    Some surveys - at least those taken on the internet give the PP a chance to get past the 5% hurdle and so into the Federal diet. They might end up somewhere near 6% if all their vocal supporters actually do vote.

    Support for the PP is also increased by the fact that both the conservative and the socialdemocratic parties have abandoned all pretence of acting for the citizen, preferring instead to ridicule any democratic movement and pump money into failed banks. We are in a similar situation as in 1933 - every established party is equally corrupt and people would like to vote for something new, whatever it is. This is even used as an argument against voting for a party that the voter thinks represents him best, as in: you must vote for a big party or we will get the same mess of multiple little parties in the federal diet that got the nazis into power in '34.

    There is a German saying that you hear during each election for several years now: You've only got the choice between the plague and cholera. Voting decisions have been made on the logic of: Vote for the lesser evil. The PP might actually change that.

    So, yes. Even as a small party and constantly ridiculed by the press the PP got the powers to pick up some of their themes. Unfortunately the ruling powers get it dead wrong and the rest can't be trusted to keep their words. One thing is clear though, since the coming of the PP German politicians have become dead scared of the internet and are busy passing laws to regulate it. We are waiting for a law saying you cannot write content without a licence like a radio station or ham. Something like this may appear after the general elections.

    I'd like to close with a quote that appears quite regularly on German internet boards these days wherever our politicians' attitude towards the internet and citizens' rights are discussed:

    "Disinterested in politics? You will wish we were." (Ihr werdet Euch noch wünschen wir wären Politikverdrossen.)

  51. jason 45
    Pirate

    Free people, don't restrict things

    They have my vote

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912

  52. mmiied
    Unhappy

    @cookieMonster

    my keyboard is fin my hands and brain are the problem

  53. mr.K
    Paris Hilton

    @Fraser

    You have to forgive me, but there seem to be some sort of cultural difference between our countries here. Usually I find our two countries to be fairly similar in many respects, but while the North Sea is not that big it seems to separate us in some fundamental ways and not just geographical.

    Do you require of your political parties to have policies on women in your country? Could you clarify which aspects of the subject these policies would cover? Is it how to handle them, whether or not they should be allowed to stay up after ten o'clock in the evening, if they should be allowed to vote, or simply how to talk to them?

    Usually I would be handed my coat by now, but you lot get Paris instead. You see, inquiring minds need to know.

  54. David Hicks
    Thumb Down

    @Anonymous Libertarian

    Whilst I have some libertarian leanings - I agree that less laws, low tax etc are good in principle - libertarians and their parties are absolutely NUTS.

    Consumption tax, even the elaborate and complicated "fair tax" is regressive and pushes the tax burden even further onto the lower-middle class.

    Libertarians would ditch all forms of social security. Libertarians would ditch the NHS.

    Sorry, but Libertarianism is a great way to ensure that we end up with underclasses that are forced to contract themselves into slavery just to eat. No thanks.

  55. twunt

    Wake up, freetards!

    @ElNumbre - Are you a moron?? Anyone who thinks that the Pirate Party could win a seat a general election needs to consider that they would need to gain between 10,000 and 20,000 votes in a single consituency for this to happen. Bear in mind that around 90% of voters choose from the main 3 parties and you'll start to understand that the idea that they could ever win even a single seat is utterly ridiculous.

  56. David Hicks
    Thumb Down

    @Fraser again

    You missed the point.

    There's more to the debate than file sharing. There are vast numbers of people who are upset at the growing corporatisation and anti-privacy politics that are going on in the western world.

    The pirate party represent a different view point that none of the mainstream do.

    I don't agree with unbridled copying of other folks work, but I will support it wholeheartedly until DRM and region coding go away, copyright terms are reduced significantly and anti-technology laws like the DMCA and EUCD are repealed.

    The pirate party represent the will of a certain section of the people here, saying it's just a bunch of crooks is stupid.

    Also, your attitude on copyright and stealing is dumb. If I steal a car, you don't have it any more. That doesn't make unauthorised copying right or better but it's not the same. Why do we need to reduce everything to the point of the ridiculous? Are we children that can't cope with more than one type of crime? Murder is just like stealing too, stealing someone's life. Parking without a ticket - stealing a space! It's all theft, whatever you want to call it, so it's all the same in my eyes!

    Nonsense.

    As for your assertion that the other parties have manifestos so they can held to account - how wonderfully naive you are. I'd love to live in your world.

  57. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So...

    ...the object of these new Pirate politicians is to help themselves to whatever they want, for free. Sounds like they'll fit in nicely at Westminster.

  58. Matt2012
    Pirate

    Filesharing isn’t stealing. Intellectual Property is theft.

    Filesharing isn’t stealing that’s crazy is listening to the radio stealing? Something that can be replicated infinitely for free can not be compared to a physical object. Its illegal because its illegal, ok so make it legal. Of course there is an issue about how creative people earn a living but bare in mind in the past a musician was paid for playing music, an artist for painting a picture. Living off the copyright proceeds of digital reproduction is hardly a human right. I develop software and am paid to do it I don't expect fees for this work in the future.

    Intellectual property is theft against humanity. The idea the all creative, scientific progress would stop without these laws is refuted by the fact that they were not around during most of humanities existence. scientist and artists do what they do because of a need to express themselves in that way its the monopolies who are the leeches.I will certainly be voting pirate.

  59. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    @ matt2012

    Some cogent points here:

    "Filesharing isn’t stealing is listening to the radio stealing"

    No (Assuming you have paid your TV licence, part of that is used to pay the PRS fees.)

    "Its illegal because its illegal, ok so make it legal."

    Wow, where to start with that one? there are many activities I dont agree should be illegal so I guess we should just make those legal?

    "scientist and artists do what they do because of a need to express themselves"

    so if all the other big pharma companies stopped paying the salaries of the scientists these guys and girls would just carry on working? The record companies stopped paying musicians these people would just shrug and get on with it? If your wages dried up because the software you develop didnt sell but was given away for free, you'd be able to survive?

    <pedant> "but bare in mind" should be but bear in mind </pedant>

  60. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    @Bilgepipe

    Unfortunately for you, the law does not work based on dictionary definitions, but on legal definitions.

    In (UK) law, "unlawful" and "illegal" are not interchangeable. They mean different things.

    The FAIL is entirely yours.

  61. Mectron

    maybe under another name

    the party can win some seat. the (c) system is broken and need to be fix.

    1. Prevent any company of any kind from owning any (c), only the actuall creator can hold copyright

    2. (c) should last 3 to 5 years MAX. if the owner dies, it is instant public domain

    3. Declare the MPAA/RIAA illegal and shut them down along will the other similar organisation accross the world.

    here you go. Piracy problems solve (simply because there is no piracy problems and if you shutdown the RIAA/MPAA no one will complain.)

  62. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Errrr stupid idiots

    Which is it idiots, either free or reorganise the recording industry so the artists get more of the cut?

    I know freetards are especially dense, but even they cant believe in both at the same time.

    It just shows how deranged and stupid these people are... not to mention they are out and out criminals waiting to be caught.

  63. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @david hicks

    "There's more to the debate than file sharing. There are vast numbers of people who are upset at the growing corporatisation and anti-privacy politics that are going on in the western world."

    Agreed, I'm not particularly happy with it myself but in the terms of the Pirate Party, this seems to come from a desire to not be found caught taking copyrighted works. However, please remember file sharing is not the same as iligally (or unlawfully, whatever you prefer) sharing files.

    "The pirate party represent a different view point that none of the mainstream do."

    Their civil liberties stuff is covered by other parties and seems to me to be in order to create an obfuscation of their real policy of 'we should be allowed to take anything that can be copied that we want without consequences'.

    "I don't agree with unbridled copying of other folks work, but I will support it wholeheartedly until DRM and region coding go away, copyright terms are reduced significantly and anti-technology laws like the DMCA and EUCD are repealed."

    Either you agree or not? You can't disagree with something and wholehartedly support it unless you've perfexted doublethink. I personally don't think that making "fair use" copies of your own physical media onto other formats for personal use is a problem, it should be explicity legal. I don't believe that I should make this happen by putting copies of all of my music and videos onto the internet for all and sundry to take whenever they want.

    "The pirate party represent the will of a certain section of the people here, saying it's just a bunch of crooks is stupid."

    Why is calling them crooks stupid? They have mainly demonstrated themselfs to be so by their actions.

    "Also, your attitude on copyright and stealing is dumb. If I steal a car, you don't have it any more. That doesn't make unauthorised copying right or better but it's not the same. Why do we need to reduce everything to the point of the ridiculous? Are we children that can't cope with more than one type of crime? Murder is just like stealing too, stealing someone's life. Parking without a ticket - stealing a space! It's all theft, whatever you want to call it, so it's all the same in my eyes!"

    Where to start - if you profit from someones work (ie listen to or watch, copy their idea or software) and you don't pay them for it and this causes them to not get money to which they are legally entitled, you are a theif. As I said above call it what you want, the OED defines theft as someone who steals something and stealing as taking something without legal right with no intention of returning it or taking an idea which is not your own. Suits me.

    "As for your assertion that the other parties have manifestos so they can held to account - how wonderfully naive you are. I'd love to live in your world."

    What is better having no manifesto and not being able to be held to account for anything or having a manifesto and being held to account by the voters/members when you don't carry out what you've said you will? I'm not under the impression that you can expect a party to totally stick to their manifesto pledges, but I am of the opinion that it's a lot easier to hold a part to account for what they haven't done if you have a document saying exectly what they said they'd do in the first place.

  64. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Re: @ all the @me

    Fraser writes...

    "If the Pirate Party get a seat or two, they will be expected to perform their duties as an MP, not just bang on about their three policies. Being an MP is hard work, it's not all sponging off the state there is a hell of a lot of representation of constituents to do."

    I'm sure there is, although the trail of questions left by the MP in my constituency would suggest otherwise. The Britard system of government doesn't really cater to addressing specific issues - it's all about buying into a continually changing package sold in local packages to people who either vote according to their perceived social class (yes, even today) or according to how lovely they think their MP is and "what a good job he does asking those [tame] questions in Parliament".

    "Copyright infringement, Copyright theft, I really don't care what you want to call it"

    Well, we do care. The term "copyright theft" is nonsense: no-one is asserting ownership over the works, even if people might distribute those works as if they owned them (such as the classic dodgy car boot sale or market trader and their suppliers), and even then such people aren't asserting control over what other people do with such works (squabbles with their rivals or competitors notwithstanding). Such terms are just intellectually lazy and convenient propaganda for those who would rather the average Britard didn't concern themselves with such matters and just kept spending money in the high street, buying the same stuff over and over again.

    "Yes, you could effect some change by working for the pirate party,or any other single issue party, or you could work within an established party with proper fleshed out policies to effect change of many people's thinking. Single issue parties are generally very bad for democracy because there aren't the skills within that party to handle the rest of politics."

    You could just as well argue that an established party doesn't have the skills to deal with these kinds of single issues. "Hello Mr Cameron, I'd like you to take a reasonable stance on patents, please." What's most likely to happen? Mr Cameron gets a phone call from some Big Pharma company executive or lobbyist telling him about the "economic impact" of those changes you proposed and suddenly your work is "not a core part of our campaign".

    Besides, the Pirate Party seem to be tackling one of the most fundamental issues of modern society head on: the increasing use of surveillance and the increasing invasion of privacy by government entities. If you can't accept the very nature of society or government as it evolves into something that many people regard as being rather disturbing, matters like the countryside (which in a Tory manifesto probably panders to incoherent Telegraph columnists and bigots on horses) can surely wait while the more urgent matters get settled first.

  65. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Unlawful Versus Illegal

    Here is a little assistance to and for Anonymous Coward (Friday 14th August 2009 09:57 GMT)

    "Black’s Law Dictionary defines unlawful as not authorized by law, illegal. Illegal is defined as forbidden by law, unlawful. Semantically, there is a slight difference. It seems that something illegal is expressly proscribed by statute, and something unlawful is just not expressly authorized."

    http://legallad.quickanddirtytips.com/unlawful-versus-illegal.aspx

    ** I am not providing this as legal advice. Laws in your area may be different (no matter what the RIAA thinks).

  66. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Freetards?

    There appear to be an interesting confusion among people when it comes to the Pirate Party. As far as I can tell there is no promotion by the Pirate Party that suggests that "freetarding" would be legalised or should be legalised. This means that some of the commentards above who assume that the Pirate Party is proposing to legalise what is today called copyright infringement may very well be "94 million miles of the target". What the party appears to be promoting is a revision of existing copyright. This by definition is not the same thing as abolishing copyright altogether - it is also not the same thing as arguing that copyrighted work should be freely copied by all and everyone without restrictions! On the other hand there are many good reasons for why current copyright legislation needs to be revised. People like to talk about the artist and his or hers rights - what exactly does this right have to do with legislation which protects copyrightholders ownerships 70 years after the artist death? Was 50 years not good enough? When copyright first was legislated it was limited to 8 years initially and then to 20 years after the work was first published. Why this "right" should be extended beyond the timeframe of other rigths such as patent etc is well worth questioning. Also why does copyright work need protection for seventy years after the death of the artist? In what way does this help any artist?

    The other issue is surveillance: when did we accept mob culture and the right of corporations to make private judgement of citizens (without the need of going to court)?

  67. Martin 47
    Thumb Up

    as others have said

    where is the linky thingy in the article, I had to search for them before I could become one of the 100 in this hour.

    Causing us freetardas to work is not on you know!

  68. Michael 28
    Coat

    @matt 2102

    "so if all the other big pharma companies stopped paying the salaries of the scientists these guys and girls would just carry on working? The record companies stopped paying musicians these people would just shrug and get on with it? If your wages dried up because the software you develop didnt sell but was given away for free, you'd be able to survive?"

    ......DON'T mix scientists with whiny pretty-boy-caddy-girl musicians !

    Scientists LIKE to share data. for free! Bitch ass musicians and their pimps demand to be paid !

    Scientists never have, probably never will , get fair pay.

    That is all !

    Mine's the Howie coat!

  69. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    p2p is leagal its already bought its in the air

    p2p fs is leagal its already bought its in the air how can it be illegal i looked into it and the courts just want money my cousin works at the pentagon i asked him to look into it and says they just want money he used to work in the white house.

    the bible dont say thou shall not download its not stealing its in the air

  70. digimatey
    Thumb Up

    If only

    About time too,where do i sign up,this whole subject needs a bloody good shake up.

  71. A G B

    COPYRIGHTS AND PATENTS.

    Copyrights And Patents Should Not Be Enforced For More Than About 5 Years.

    For One, The Price Of Meds Is A Complete Shame.

  72. A G B

    UPDATES.

    HOW LONG DO THE UPDATES TAKE ?

  73. Watashi

    Music and freedom

    Music has been reduced to little more than a means of making money - it is a prime example of the consumerisation of life and the Thatcher-Reagan free market economy Utiopan view that all things are better done if their industries are unregulated and able to do whatever they want to generate money. If it can be controlled, it can be sold.

    This runs somewhat contrary to a key role of music in culture - freedom. Whether it's the blues music that evolved out of the slave trade, the flower-power peace and liberty attitude of the hippy era, the anarchistic ethos that underlined punk and encapsulated the breaking down of deference to the Establishment in Britain, or the underground 'music belongs to the people' attitude of techno, music and freedom go hand-in-hand.

    Perhaps it's not surprising in an era where everything you can think of seems to be owned and controlled by a multinational corporation, it's our love of music that's turning a means of getting stuff for free into a libertarian movement. The Pirate Party, for all it's silly name and amatuerish feel, is the ONLY organisation actively making a stand against digitally opressive governments. And unlike those manufactured US Town Hall meetings where rich white Amercians get to complain about giving poor people free healthcare, it's a genuine grass-roots movement. Music predates concepts like money and intellectual property, and the importance of music to society is much deeper than merely making people rich and providing jobs. Music is a social entity, and our attitudes to music mirror our attitudes to life.

    This is really about reclaiming society for the people who live in it.

    Fighting for our right to have free (at the point of source) music is more than just about getting music without having to pay for it... it's about society adapting to the digital age. Technology offers new forms of freedom, but also new forms of oppression and social control. At the moment we seem to be getting a lot more of the latter than the former. It may only be a small blow for the cause of normal British people, but the Pirate Party will get my vote if they stand in my constituency at the next election.

    And before I end, it's worth pointing out that all freedom movements start out being an exception to the norm, and they are almost always demonised by mainstream politicians and the mainstream press. Freedom is an emergent property of human societies that comes out of instincts most of us don't even realise we have. The Piracy Party is the tip of the iceberg - the visible part of a social need that is much larger than politicians and commentators can see.

  74. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @AC 21:32

    Congratulations on the slashdot quote/paraphrase or troll maybe?

  75. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    @Unlawful Versus Illegal

    "It seems that something illegal is expressly proscribed by statute, and something unlawful is just not expressly authorized."

    That is precisely the point. If I infinge your copyright, it is because my use of it has not been authorised. That is unlawful, not illegal.

  76. Sean O'Connor 1
    WTF?

    @Watashi

    Nobody's actually stopping a musician giving away their own music for free if that's what they want to do. But obviously musicians vote with their feet by charging for what they produce - so they can make a living from their work and produce more.

  77. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Count me in...

    ....finally a party apparently worth joining...arrrr....

  78. Phillip.

    The Pirate Party raises important issues

    "Wow, where to start with that one? there are many activities I dont agree should be illegal so I guess we should just make those legal?"

    Of course. And if you get enough people to agree with you then they will be. Women voting was illegal until 1918 but enough people got together to turn it from illegal to legal. Male homosexuality was illegal until 1967 when it became legal.

    The Register insinuates that may of its readers are 'retards' because they download fragments of their culture off the Internet, though don't hesitate to embed free trashy 'amusing' YouTube clips rather than carry out the proper journalism they used to.

    Sometimes I look at my Nokia E71, with megapix camera, GPS navigation, WIFI Internet, etc, and remember how I envied Cpt Kirks communicator in Star Trek when I was a child. The mobile revolution has really changed society, and our expectations. However here the government has often been on the side of the consumer, stipulating investment requirements in exchange for frequencies, or capping roaming charges.

    When I go online, I can nearly instantly access every movie, tv programme, song, and book ever produced. A lot of it free as the corporations that have locked up my children's heritage have tried to resist the social tide. Some people need to step back from the short-sighted "getting stuff for free" viewpoint and marvel at the technological and cultural achievement. A cultural utopia not found even in many science fiction books. Even if it persists then musicians will still make music, and money from gigs, and films will continue to be made with profits at the box office. Books and software, however, will be vulnerable and need to evolve either protection or business model.

    The Pirate Party makes a number of valid points which I believe need to be addressed. I would vote for this single issue party as a way of raising the issues' priority with the main political parties. I wish them the best of luck.

    Phillip.

  79. David Hicks

    @Fraser

    "Either you agree or not? You can't disagree with something and wholehartedly support it unless you've perfexted doublethink. I personally don't think that making "fair use" copies of your own physical media onto other formats for personal use is a problem, it should be explicity legal. I don't believe that I should make this happen by putting copies of all of my music and videos onto the internet for all and sundry to take whenever they want."

    And how are you going to make those personal copies? All the tools are illegal. I can't even use media I buy in all the machines I own because of stupid restrictions on region coding and other crappy DRM.

    That's why I support it. At the moment there is no protection of fair use and the bias is too far to one side, the social contract that makes up copyright is being utterly abused by one side - so fuck 'em, total disobedience on the other is what they'll get in response. When the contract is rebalanced then perhaps we can all start cooperating and acting lawfully again.

    As for the rest of your last post, it's not worth bothering with. You just childishly reduce different crimes to the same thing again, despite knowing that one is depriving someone else of property and the other is an act of copying, and then repeat you naive assertion that the UK populace give a crap about holding existing political parties to their manifesto promises.

  80. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    @Bilge Pipe EPIC FAIL

    you obviously haven't a clue that legal definitions are often quite at odds with what us mere mortals would take as a words standard definition.

    for example unlawful from a LEGAL dictionary when applied to THIS (copyright) situation , which is a CIVIL and NOT CRIMINAL situation, hence the CIVIL cases going before the courts is this

    "Unlawful- When applied to promises, agreements, or contracts, the term denotes that such agreements have no legal effect. The law disapproves of such conduct because it is immoral or contrary to public policy. Unlawful does not necessarily imply criminality, although the term is sufficiently broad to include it."

    unlawful DOES NOT = ILLEGAL in CIVIL cases. sometimes in @can@ be deemed to be illegal by the presiding officer of the court and sometimes allegations of unlawful behaviour/conduct etc are found to hold no substance.

    what DOES matter is that the LEGAL definitions are more often than not VASTLY DIFFERENT from the meaning you are i would apply to every day words.

    which is thy, in general when you read legal documents and you think you understand it you are more often than not, you could not be more wrong if your name were W. Wrongy Wrongenstien.

    epic fail bilgepipe.. EPIC FAIL. consider yer bubble of pomposity burst

  81. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Re: @david hicks

    Fraser writes...

    "Their civil liberties stuff is covered by other parties and seems to me to be in order to create an obfuscation of their real policy of 'we should be allowed to take anything that can be copied that we want without consequences'."

    Civil liberties covered by other parties. Well, yes, but taking a look at the big two favoured by most voting Britards, both of them say that they value freedom and then implement nasty laws under confusing names: those investigatory powers really needed "regulation" in an Act of Parliament, didn't they? The way that you're going on about "stealing" and conveniently ignoring the actual manifestos of the various Pirate Parties, the more you look like an apologist for the seedy relationships between the big two and their corporate friends.

    "I personally don't think that making "fair use" copies of your own physical media onto other formats for personal use is a problem, it should be explicity legal. I don't believe that I should make this happen by putting copies of all of my music and videos onto the internet for all and sundry to take whenever they want."

    You know, people have actually stated that they own various "copy-protected" works and have yet decided that using a torrent was easier than figuring out how to access those works in the way they wanted to (instead of in the narrow fashion that some executive and his legal pals had in mind). That it's easier to share stuff on the Internet than it is to get the data from one thing onto another only a few centimetres away shows that the "fail" is on the media companies.

    "Where to start - if you profit from someones work (ie listen to or watch, copy their idea or software) and you don't pay them for it and this causes them to not get money to which they are legally entitled, you are a theif."

    This is the problem with the "intellectual property" brigade: they start off "protecting" things that most people can get on with (for the most part) - software and content should have some notion of author-dictated control, with a way of regulating the compromise between reward and sharing (copyright) - but then they start nailing down anything that can earn a bunch of middlemen some money, such that a mere idea becomes something you can get a monopoly on (patents). All it then takes is a bit of propaganda and the gullible will gladly use terms like "theif", erm, "thief".

  82. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hopefully the punishment will be increased

    Hopefully thru open dialog the powers that be will increase the fines and prison time for piracy so that all pirates get the message. The only good pirate is dead or in prison.

  83. Matt2012
    WTF?

    WTF?

    @Anonymous Coward 14.42

    "Filesharing isn’t stealing is listening to the radio stealing"

    No (Assuming you have paid your TV licence, part of that is used to pay the PRS fees.)

    >>No license is required to listen to the radio. (UK)

    Wow, where to start with that one? there are many activities I dont agree should be illegal so I guess we should just make those legal?

    >> What!! Yes of course that is what this is all about - its called living in a democracy! Laws are about two things one the settled moral beliefs of a society (a bit) the balance of expressed power (a lot). In this instance the Pirate party is challenging the first for a rethink and at the same time showing that 7 million file shares may not take having individuals targeted lying down. That's called real politics.

    "scientist and artists do what they do because of a need to express themselves"

    so if all the other big pharma companies stopped paying the salaries of the scientists these guys and girls would just carry on working? The record companies stopped paying musicians these people would just shrug and get on with it? If your wages dried up because the software you develop didnt sell but was given away for free, you'd be able to survive?

    >> Yes there would still be drug companies without patents (its called generics) the only argument is the speed of development which would simply mean state funded research replacing big pharma. I for one would rather less development if the result is everyone gets a crack at the drugs already developed. Personally I believe drug development would be quicker by thousands of smaller drug companies working on cheaper research strategies and sharing ideas.

    Yes most musicians don't have record deals and do get on with it the record labels provide lottery winnings for a handful that would dry up up boo hoo. I get paid once to develop something someone needs then I look for new work - like most people I expect only to be paid for work done not for some ongoing ownership of mindspace..!

  84. Mei Lewis

    I'd probably vote for them

    If they stood in a constituency I could vote in. The system needs a shakeup.

    Also stop calling them freetards theregister. It's a social position some people choose to take, calling them retards for it every time you mention them is the very antisthesis of cool-headed, unbiased journalism. It would be okay if it was funny, but it's not - think up a new joke.

  85. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Reg

    'Freetards' ahaha look at me, I can make stupid names for people too.. Registards!

    And I adblock this whole site too so its freeee.

  86. Anonymous Coward
    Megaphone

    Can't wait!

    I am so looking forward to them canvassing door to door in my area so that I can walk two doors ahead of them and give my pitch to the householder, pretending to be their candidate. Fairs fair!

  87. Tom 106

    Time to Party

    Is ElReg behaving like Pravda?

    Join the party at pirateparty.org.uk or simply google pirateparty UK.

  88. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Just THREE items in their manifesto??

    That's better than a lot of "Independant" candidates have! Most of the so-called 'independants' stand on one issue alone (school or hospital closure, siting of mobile 'phone masts or wind turbines, stopping link roads or distribution centres, alternate weeks collection of recycling and 'unrecyclable' waste) and have absolutely no sodding idea what to do about anything else, or what it actually takes to run a modern village, town or city.

    The trick is, when the candidate arrives on your doorstep (alhough I've never seen an Independant actually going round and speaking to the Voters who are not members of their own little clique), you ASK what their views are on the things that matter to you - those mentioned above, or whatever else.

    Then, when you have spoken to the Candidates and found the one whose promises most closely match your beliefs and desires, you vote for that candidate. Simple really, isn't it.

    Except, of course, that they rarely live up to their promises - but that's an entirely different matter anyway.

    Oh, and for those who seem to have skimmed the original article, PPUK are NOT proposing to do away with Copyright - they want to make it work for the artists and the consumers rather than the recording industry; more money to the artist for a shorter time and a reasonable limit to how long material can be "held hostage" - I've tried to get music CDs for 80's acts but the record companies don't have them, and it's right that I'm not allowed to copy my vinyl LPs because some businessman in a suit says so? Unlike some people, I haven't copied them across even though doing so IS PERFECTLY LEGAL UNDER UK LAW (since they would be for personal use only), nor will I do so until this half-assed law is changed.

    Of course, it's perfectly acceptable for record compaines to keep indefintiely extending Copyright duration (what is it Disney have now, 99 years or something? So much for "public domain"!) since they are only doing it out of concern for the original artists (how old is Walt, again?).

    And what happens once they manage to do away with physical copies anyway, or put everything on limited-use disks? (Several UK papers have given away CDs that will only play a few times before becoming unreadable/unplayable) People WILL end up having to pay each and every time they want to watch or listen to anything, but by then it'll be too late - but at least you'll still be able to point and say "Lookit those freetards over there - don't they look stoopid!"

  89. lukewarmdog

    @Fraser

    By Fraser Posted Friday 14th August 2009 11:53 GMT

    "If the Pirate Party get a seat or two, they will be expected to perform their duties as an MP, not just bang on about their three policies. Being an MP is hard work, it's not all sponging off the state there is a hell of a lot of representation of constituents to do."

    Yeah I had to lol. It's totally all sponging off the state.

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