- Joined
- Jun 5, 2006
- Location
- Edmonton Canada
Sweden has recognized file sharing as a religion, granting official church status to the country's Missionary Church of Kopimism, which boasts some 3,000 members.
The Kopimi (pronounced "copy me") movement has tried twice before to get official recognition, but had been rejected. The Swedish government finally recognized the Church of Kopimism after it formalized its mode of prayer and meditation. According to the group's website, Kopimism sees information as holy and copying and file sharing as a sacred acts akin to prayer. The website has been unavailable since it broke the news of its religious status. A message urged those interested in joining to "come back in a couple of days when the storm has settled."
Despite Kopimism official status, copyright infringement remains illegal in Sweden.
The move in Sweden comes amid the debate over Rep. Lamar Smith's hotly-debated Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which is currently making its way through Congress and would, if passed, give U.S. authorities wide-ranging right to shut down or block websites, including international sites, deemed to being facilitating copyright infringement.
There's a
The Kopimi (pronounced "copy me") movement has tried twice before to get official recognition, but had been rejected. The Swedish government finally recognized the Church of Kopimism after it formalized its mode of prayer and meditation. According to the group's website, Kopimism sees information as holy and copying and file sharing as a sacred acts akin to prayer. The website has been unavailable since it broke the news of its religious status. A message urged those interested in joining to "come back in a couple of days when the storm has settled."
Despite Kopimism official status, copyright infringement remains illegal in Sweden.
The move in Sweden comes amid the debate over Rep. Lamar Smith's hotly-debated Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which is currently making its way through Congress and would, if passed, give U.S. authorities wide-ranging right to shut down or block websites, including international sites, deemed to being facilitating copyright infringement.
There's a
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- here's a preview:Q. Does Kopimism have anything to say about the afterlife?
A. Not really. As a religion we are not so focussed on humans.