If you're the sort of person that can't stand the thought of missing out on the latest episode of "Lost" or "Fringe" then chances are that someone's told you about The Pirate Bay. The Swedish-operated Internet site is largely considered to be the biggest and best torrent site on the web, but the BBC news service is reporting today that the site's creators were sentenced to one year in jail for breaking copyright law.

The four people currently running the site were also ordered to pay 3.5 million dollars in damages to the likes of Warner Bros., Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Columbia Pictures.

Speaking to the BBC, the chairman of industry body the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) John Kennedy said the verdict sent out a clear message.

"These guys weren't making a principled stand, they were out to line their own pockets. There was nothing meritorious about their behaviour, it was reprehensible.
Peter Sunde, one of the four people accused, put up a tweet saying "Nothing will happen to TPB, this is just theatre for the media." It is expected that the site will continue to function as normal.

Slapped on the wrists, sentenced to jail; will TPB continue to function?



Bryn says: I'll tread carefully here. The reality of the situation is that torrenting will never stop. No force on the planet can stop p2p sharing, and while this may seem like some moral victory for the war against piracy, the fact of the matter is that these guys and their site was simply too high profile in the media for them to be ignored for long.

They will appeal the decision, and maybe they'll even get off, but I find it hard to believe that other bigger and better torrent sites won't just mushroom up and take over the scene.