Tomas Norström, the judge who sentenced the Pirate Bay Four, was recently outed as a member of two copyright advocacy organizations, prompting rumblings about a mistrial.


Some Swedish attorneys believe that Norström's membership of the Swedish Copyright Association and the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (where he is a board member) represent a full-on conflict of interest, a charge that, naturally, he denies. I won't pretend to know whether or not these accusations constitute full-on shenanigans (legal term!) under Swedish law, but the fact that a juror on the case was dismissed for membership in the same organizations should raise a few eyebrows.


So, there's a little conspiracy to mix in with your boiling indignation. Enjoy! [The Local—Thanks Jason, Buster, and John!]