Surprise Twist: The Pirate Bay’s Famous Swedish Domain Hits the Market! For a mere $90, you can jump into the bidding frenzy for ThePirateBay.se. But as a Supreme Court showdown over domain control hangs in the balance, who will step up to claim it?
In its early days back in 2003, The Pirate Bay sailed under the flag of ThePirateBay.org. Over the years, however, it has navigated through a sea of domain changes, seeking safe harbors when others were seized or lost.
Among the fleet of domains, ThePirateBay.se has remained a steadfast anchor, weathering countless storms. It became the mainstay in 2012, enduring a domain-hopping voyage until 2015, when it returned home.
But now, there’s a sudden shift in the winds. ThePirateBay.se has raised a flag of uncertainty. It briefly parted ways with ThePirateBay.org, sparking intrigue. Upon investigation, it revealed an unexpected revelation: the domain is up for sale, according to its WHOIS entry.
Following the breadcrumb trail, a curious click on the domain auction site Sedo unveils a surprising sight: ThePirateBay.se is up for grabs. Despite its brief stint on the auction block, interest seems tepid at best. At present, bidders can throw in as little as $90 (plus VAT) to the seller, hailing from Barbados, as indicated by Sedo.
Yet, the question looms: is the domain worth anything at all? In 2013, the domain faced a legal tempest when anti-piracy prosecutor Fredrik Ingblad set his sights on it. He argued that Punkt SE (IIS), the steward of Sweden’s .SE domain, should bear responsibility for Pirate Bay’s copyright infringements unless it cut ties with the domain.
The legal saga unfolded, culminating in a Stockholm District Court ruling in 2015 to hand over ThePirateBay.se and PirateBay.se to the Swedish state. But the storm was far from over. The Svea Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, yet the debate raged on.
In a twist, Pirate Bay co-founder Fredrik Neij appealed to the Supreme Court in June 2016, challenging the notion that a domain name could be seized under copyright law. The outcome hangs in the balance, but one thing is certain: ThePirateBay.se is in choppy legal waters and ripe for seizure.
TorrentFreak reached out to Sweden’s IIS to gauge the impact of a potential sale on the ongoing legal tussle, but the organization remained tight-lipped. Meanwhile, The Pirate Bay’s operators have kept mum on the sale, which has been quietly underway for weeks.