Pirate Pay Seeking Retrial Says Judge Was Bias

The Pirate Bay four may have wrongly been tried and convicted of copyright infringement, that is according to defense lawyers who have filed a motion for retail citing bias on behalf of Judge Tomas Norstrom.

Shortly after the conviction of Pirate Bay founders Carl Lundstrom, Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Fredrik Neij it was discovered that Judge Tomas Norstrom was a member of two Swedish copyright protection groups. He later confirmed his affiliation this week, which first surfaced in Swedish Radio reports.

Norstrom is a member of The Swedish Association for Copyright, an organization whose board includes Peter Danowsky, who represented the music and film industry in the trial. Norstrom is also a board member of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property.

"Tomas Norstrom was biased during the trial ... Secondly, he neglected to inform the defendants and their lawyers of the facts that constituted the bias," defense lawyer Per Samuelson said in the document obtained by Reuters from the court.

lawyers where in court yesterday arguing that Norstrom involvement with The Swedish Association for Copyright, as well as a the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property constituted a conflict of interests. The court of appeal now has the option to decide on whether to send the case back to the district court for a retail.