(Image Source: Gizmodo)

BY ADNAN S. KHAN

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

All praise belongs to the all-mighty … torrent??? At least in Sweden it does.

The nation has formally recognized file sharing as an official religion. News 12 has the details.

“The Scandinavian country has recognized the ‘Missionary Church of Kopimism.’ The church was founded by file sharing purists - or kopists- who say it is holy to to freely exchange information - copyrighted or not - on the web.”

The church holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V, or the shortcuts for copy and paste, as it sacred symbols. Its membership has reached 3,000 since it was founded in early 2010. The founder Isak Gerson explained to Al Jazeera the basic concept behind his religion.

"The basic idea is that the information and the copying is kind of holding its own rights and are sacred to us. So we believe that the copying and sharing of information shouldn’t be illegal but it should be encouraged.”

The church was founded in hopes of avoiding persecution in light of the recent global crackdown on online piracy. In an interview with TorrentFreak, Gerson said...
 

“There’s still a legal stigma around copying for many. A lot of people still worry about going to jail when copying and remixing. I hope in the name of Kopimi that this will change.”

But for the pirates, the End of Days May Cometh, at least according to PCWorld. The magazine says Sweden, which has been the Garden of Eden for file-sharing zealots, is also home to file-sharing nonbelievers.

“...Swedish copyright organizations are still on the warpath. In December, a number of industry organizations, including IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), wrote … that Sweden is still a paradise for pirates, thanks to the combination of political passivity and obstructive ISPs. They seriously question whether there is any copyright protection online in Sweden.”

And before you go off ‘kopyacting’ yourself, you should know that piracy is still illegal. BBC says Kopimism will have little effect on the war against online piracy. The station talked to a music analyst who explains why Thou shalt not Kopy.

“It is quite divorced from reality and is reflective of Swedish social norms rather than the Swedish legislative system … It doesn’t mean that illegal file-sharing will become legal, any more than if ‘Jedi’ was recognised as a religion everyone would be walking around with light sabres.”