March 27, 2009

By By Andre Paine, London

The Pirate Bay is beta testing virtual private network (VPN) software, which would enable file-sharers to use the Swedish BitTorrent tracker without leaving a data trail. The service will cost around ?5 ($6.67) a month.

The IPREDator is named after IPRED, the EU's Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive, which covers civil remedies on copyright infringement. It is due to take effect in Sweden on April 1 and would make it more difficult for rights holders to track copyright infringers.

In response, the Pirate Bay hopes to launch IPREDator - described as "a network service that makes people online more anonymous using a VPN" - some time before April 1. "The network is under our control not theirs," a statement reads on the IPREDator Web site.

A verdict is due next month on the copyright infringement case against four Pirate Bay associates at Stockolm district court.

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