Film studios seek to sink Pirate Bay for good

Thirteen film studios led by Disney, Universal and Columbia have decided that the best way to deal with file-sharing site Pirate Bay is to kill it off for good.

Under the auspices of the Motion Picture Association of America, the studios have launched a new legal action in the Swedish courts aimed at closing down the site permanently.

They say that despite the three founders - Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg - having been sentenced to a year in jail, they are nonetheless continuing their operations.

The suit also alleges that Reservella, the Seychelles-based company that The Pirate Bay founders insist owns the web site, is in fact merely a front company owned by Neij. The three former Pirate Bay principals deny this assertion.

The Pirate Bay founders were fined $3.6m (£2.2m) in the Swedish courts in April after losing an earlier lawsuit brought by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the entertainment companies it represents.

Internet cafe company Global Gaming Foundry (GGF) announced in June that it will buy Pirate Bay for $7.8m and turn it into a legitimate operation.

However, GGF now appears to be having second thoughts about the deal, according to reports circulating on the web last week, and the IFPI has vowed to seize any money from the sale that might end up in the hands of the Pirate Bay founders.