In the EU's Parliamentary elections, the "Pirate Party" won 7.1 percent of the Swedish vote. Is this a call for Sweden to return to its nautical roots? No, it turns out. The Pirate Party, as I understand it, is essentially a one issue party -- and the issue is Intellectual Property. (Though the PP also advocates for privacy protections, perhaps to protect piracy.) This political party wants to reform copyright and "get rid of the patent system." Huh?

It is true that in Sweden, there is a relatively high rate of music piracy.  And support for the Pirate Party comes largely from a younger demographic -- perhaps idealistic youth listening to all that music. But Sweden is also a country with a history of engineering and artistic excellence and the nation has benefited enormously from IP -- socially and economically.  The leader of the Sweden's Pirate Party has said he wants to evangelize in Brussels. This suggests that IP creators -- inventors, artists, writers -- need to evangelize back.

Anyone out there with a clearer picture of the European elections, the Pirate Party, etc., have comments to offer?