Global Gaming Factory X

Pirate Bay’s Would-Be Buyer Sinks, Blames Media

Peter Kafka in Media on August 27, 2009 at 4:32 am PT

A proposed deal to buy The Pirate Bay and turn it legit, which never made sense in the first place, now looks all but dead. The Swedish software/Internet cafe company that’s supposed to buy the file-sharing haven for $8 million now says investors that were supposed to finance the deal have disappeared. And it says this is the fault of the U.S. media, which supposedly spooked said investors. Sorry!

Pirate Bay’s Supposed Buyer Says Everything’s Awesome. So Why Are Its Allies Running?

Peter Kafka in Media on August 21, 2009 at 7:43 am PT

The company that wants to buy The Pirate Bay and turn the file-sharing haven legit says its plans are moving full-steam ahead. But it seems to be having a hard time convincing its own team, including an erstwhile adviser, its would-be partner and its former CTO.

The Pirate Bay Still Hasn’t Gone Legit, Still Enjoys Poking Big Media in the Eye: The “$675,000 Mixtape”

Peter Kafka in Media on August 14, 2009 at 6:00 am PT

Remember how the rascals at file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, chastened by the Swedish courts, were going to straighten up and go legit? Going to have to keep waiting on that one. Here’s the latest reminder: Yet another thumb in the eye to the big music labels.

Illegal Downloads, Meet Suspicious Stock Sales: The Pirate Bay Story Gets Even Murkier

Peter Kafka in Media on July 2, 2009 at 5:46 am PT

The more I hear about the supposed plan for an Internet cafe company to buy the world’s best-known illegal file-sharing site, the more I think that the whole thing is a farce. So this one doesn’t even faze me: Swedish regulators are looking into insider trading charges at Global Gaming Factory X, which saw shares jump several days before it said it would buy The Pirate Bay.

Is The Pirate Bay Really Going Legit? Of Course Not.

Peter Kafka in Media on June 30, 2009 at 6:32 am PT

You can hear the head-scratching going on at movie studios and music labels across the world: What just happened to The Pirate Bay? Reports out of Sweden are murky at best. But supposedly, a Scandinavian software outfit is buying the world’s most notorious file-sharing site for about $8 million and will create a service that pays copyright owners when people download their work. But let’s be honest: That’s never going to happen.