In othner words is guilty a superlative? Can someone be more guilty than another person?
Let me offer a for instance. Who is more guilty the person who goes into a supermarket, buys 50 items then puts a toothbrush into their pocket in order to not pay for it, or the person who piles 50 items into their bag and bulky clothing then walks out? In the eyes of the law they are both guilty, the punishment meted out may be different but the magnitude of the offense in no way affects the verdict. For instance you never hear the foreman of the jury saying “they are just a little bit guilty”.
In the case of the trial of the people who ruin the Pirate Bay who were found guilty last Friday they asked why the prosecutors did not go after Ebay and Google and even ISPs who also provide access to copyright material. They answered that the majority of the material on the Pirate Bay was copyright whereas the majority of the links in Google were not. Does this mean that Google are no less guilty? The argument is a nonsense. If the Pirate Bay were guilty it is evident that Google would have to be found guilty since the principle applies equally to both. They both provide a service whereby access is gained to copyright material.
Now I am making no judgement as to whether I believe that the Pirate Bay is morally right or wrong. The issues are extremely complex and some of the judgements passed down in copyright cases are stupid to say the least. In fact many judgements in cases involving technical issues are highly suspect due to the lack of understanding of the judge of technical matters. Some of the statements made indicate that they are way out of their depth.
Having said that I believe that the people who run the Pirate Bay to a large extent are their own worst enemies. The Swedish law recently changed so that this trial could take place due to pressure from the recording industry and they knew that they were going to be taken to court for a long time. There were many alternatives – not all of which included shutting down the Pirate Bay.
On the other hand I do take issue with the recording industry and their tactics, many of which are illegal and most of which are immoral, if (barely) legal. The fact is that they are too lazy to do proper research and investigation and prossecute those who are really the violators of copyright. It is much easier to go after the Pirate Bay who in reality are small fish with large targets painted on their backs. Even when they do appear to find copyright violators they do not bother to verify their suspicions, they simply engage in extortionist tactics against people, most of whom are innocent.
Finally, who is it that the recording industry are representing? The guy who plays in your local bar, or the person doing the clubs trying to scrape together a living. I think not. They are really only interested in maintaining the profits of the large corporations who are as interested your average recording artist as I am in the AFL.
These people are just bullies trying to put a few more pieces of silver into their coffers. As for me I buy most of my material direct from the artist. I know where my money is going, to support the real artists who play the rounds.