File-Sharing Recognized as Official Religion in Sweden

Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their
beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their
request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds
CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities
as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will
remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing.

All around the world file-sharers are being chased by anti-piracy
outfits and the authorities, and the situation in Sweden is no
different. While copyright holders are often quick to label file-sharers
as pirates, there is a large group of people who actually consider
copying to be a sacred act.

Philosophy student Isak Gerson is such a religious file-sharer, and in
an attempt to protect his unique belief system he founded The Missionary
Church of Kopimism in 2010. In the hope that they could help prevent
persecution for their beliefs, the Church then filed a request to be
officially accepted by the authorities.

After two failed attempts, where the Church was asked to formalize its
way of praying or meditation, the authorities finally recognized the
organization as an official religion. The Church’s founder is ecstatic
about this news, and hopes that it will motivate more people to come
forward as ‘Kopimists’.

“I think that more people will have the courage to step out as
Kopimists. Maybe not in the public, but at least to their close ones,”
Isak tells TorrentFreak. “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.”


Although the formal status of the Church doesn’t mean that copyright
infringement is now permitted, the Church’s founder hopes that their
beliefs will be considered in future lawmaking.

During the last half year the Missionary Church of Kopimism tripled its
members from 1,000 to 3,000 and it’s expected that the recent news will
cause another surge in followers. Official member or not, Gerson
encourages everyone with an Internet connection to keep on sharing.

“We confessional Kopimists have not only depended on each other in this
struggle, but on everyone who is copying information. To everyone with
an internet connection: Keep copying. Maintain hardline Kopimi,” Gerson
concludes.

Prospective followers who embrace the same calling are of course welcome to join the movement, free of charge.

Source

Not sure if srs

what the fuckkk... lol really? this cant possibly work.