Pirate Bay four hit roadblock in appeal

Swedish court rules that judge was not biased

By Scott Roxborough

June 11, 2009, 08:07 AM ET

Updated: June 15, 2009, 06:32 PM ET

COLOGNE, Germany -- The four men convicted for operating file-sharing site the Pirate Bay suffered a further setback this week when they failed to get the case thrown out due to alleged bias by the sentencing judge.

Stockholm's district court rejected claims by Pirate Bay lawyers that its judge Tomas Norstrom was biased in the original case because he was a member of several groups that lobby for the rights of copyright holders. The district court said Norstrom joined the associations to keep abreast of copyright issues and that it found no evidence of bias.

Pirate Bay founders, sentenced to a year each in jail in April, are partly basing their appeal on Norstrom's copyright connections and are calling for a retrial.

Sweden's appellate court is expected to rule on the matter later this year. It is not clear whether they will agree with the district court's assessment of Norstrom's alleged bias.

The Pirate Bay site has continued to operate after the guilty verdict but is expected to be shut down if the appeal fails.

Pirate Bay four hit roadblock in appeal

Swedish court rules that judge was not biased

By Scott Roxborough

June 11, 2009, 08:07 AM ET

Updated: June 15, 2009, 06:32 PM ET