It's not unusual for some to conclude that the Pirate Party and The Pirate Bay are one and the same thing. But while ideals may be shared, with the former often jumping to the defense of the latter, there is no direct connection. However, the Swedish Pirate Party is The Pirate Bay's Internet service provider, something that several filmmakers are calling to be made illegal. Party leader Anna Troberg is defiant and says there's nothing illegal about providing a digital postal service.

On Sunday, seven movie directors and producers spoke as one through an article published on SvD.se. Titled “Do not let the pirates have connectivity.”

The article bemoaned the fact that The Pirate Bay continues to operate despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

“We will not stand idly by and watch as the Pirate Bay and other illegal file sharing services continue to make money by taking advantage of our work,” the industry workers began.

“The Supreme Court’s decision in February finally confirmed that the activity is illegal. And not only that, the suppliers of Internet connectivity to an illegal service can also be sentenced to both imprisonment and heavy fines.”

The filmmakers go on to criticize ISPs who they say allow sites like The Pirate Bay to operate, accusing them of “sitting in the shadows” despite being a key component in the sites’ operations.

“We had hoped that the Swedish players would close their internet connections to the Pirate Bay and other illegal sites after the Supreme Court decision in February. But they have not. It seems that they intend to continue on this path until a court forces each of them to stop.

“We do not want to use our energy to pursue litigation, we want to work with film and not the law. We therefore urge all ISPs to stop supplying the illegal services with Internet connectivity,” they conclude.

In the case of The Pirate Bay, the filmmakers’ appeals are directed at a rather interesting target.

While it’s not unusual for Pirate parties around the world to align themselves with the ideals of The Pirate Bay, in Sweden things go a step further. The Swedish Pirate Party actually provides Internet connectivity to the infamous torrent site which further politicizes the already complex copyright debate.

In response to the open letter, party leader Anna Troberg says the filmmakers are guilty of wishful thinking that ignores the real problems.

“ISPs are the network equivalent of the mail. They forward packets without looking at them. No one would suggest that the postal service should open all their packages to examine the contents. No one would even suggest that the postal service should stop delivering letters and parcels to certain addresses. Yet this is precisely what the seven filmmakers are compelling the ISPs to do with their proposal,” Troberg explains.

Troberg says that there have also been “ill-disguised threats in the media” from movie industry lawyer Monique Wadsted that are designed to persuade the party to discontinue their connectivity support to The Pirate Bay. Troberg says that according to Patrick Hiselius, a lawyer with ISP TeliaSonera, there is no legal basis requiring them to do so.

“Providing access is not illegal. There is no list at any court on sites that violate the law. And we can not act on any list from Monique Wadsted,” says Hiselius.

But of course the copyright industries aren’t about to give up on their threats, they’ve come too far for that, and their targets are well aware of the risks. Costly legal action can be just around the corner in any battle involving The Pirate Bay and as a result many are shying away from getting involved.

“It is an extortion racket that works well,” says Troberg. “It is now hard to find anyone who dares to provide Internet access when it has something to do with The Pirate Bay, not because it’s illegal in itself, but because they are scared of the copyright industry’s torpedoes.”

At the moment the Swedish Pirate Party seems content to continue with its support, but will no doubt be keeping a close eye on a developing situation in the UK.

In recent days the UK Pirate Party has found itself under pressure for operating a mere Pirate Bay proxy service, a step far removed from providing actual Internet connectivity to the site.

After asking the party to take down the proxy and receiving a refusal, the BPI has now indicated that legal action will follow.

While it’s been copyright industry vs pirates for some time now, few would have imagined that the fight would come to this kind of political showdown.