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Sweden recognises new file-sharing religious organisation
A church whose central belief is the right to file-share has been formally recognised by the Swedish government.
The Church of Kopimism holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols
The Swedish government registered the Church of Kopimism as a religious organisation shortly before Christmas. The "spiritual leader" of the church said recognition was a "large step".
The Church of Kopimism claims that "kopyacting", sharing information through copying, is on a par to a religious service.
The religious organisation, which holds CTRL C and CTRL V as sacred symbols, does not directly promote illegal file sharing, focusing instead on the open distribution of knowledge to all.
It was founded by 19-year-old philosophy student and leader Isak Gerson who hopes that file-sharing will now be given religious protection.
Despite the new-found interest in the organisation, experts said religious status for file-sharing would have little effect on the global crackdown on piracy.
