How do you circumvent the copyright laws of the United States? Apparently
you buy your own country.
Swedish site Piratebay.net, which is well known as a host tracker for
countless pirated items of content, has launched a bid to buy its own country called Sealand.
Just off the coast of the United Kingdom, Sealand is actually a former
British defense sea platform. Its current rulers have claimed it to be an
independent micro nation and it has its own currency, flag, anthem and laws.
It is also for sale.
Time and again, authorities in the United States, Sweden and elsewhere have
tried to remove Pirate Bay from the Internet as a haven for piracy. The
Swedish pirate group so far has successfully thwarted all comers and even boasts of all the threats they’ve
received on its site.
With a country of its own, Pirate Bay could ostensibly do whatever it wants without repercussion from government authorities.
“It should be a great place for everybody, with high-speed Internet access,
no copyright laws and VIP accounts to The Pirate Bay,” Pirate Bay’s
Buy Sealand site states.
In order to raise enough money to buy Sealand, Pirate Bay is offering
Sealand citizenship to anyone who donates money to the cause.
Sealand even without Pirate Bay is already wired to the Internet.
HavenCo is a company already
operating on Sealand offering what it claims to be, “unparalleled security
and independence to users who wish to take advantage of its Internet
colocation services.”