Google Tech Talks July 31, 2007 ABSTRACT Rick Falkvinge, the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party and the international politicized pirate movement, talks about the rise and success of pirates, and why pirates are necessary in today's politics. He'll also outline the next steps in the pirates' strategy to change global copyright laws. The fight against copyright aggression tends to focus on economic aspects of the shift to a networked economy. Rick explains how this conflict is much more important than that: the fight against the copyright regime is about the right to fundamental civil liberties - down to the postal secret, whistleblower protection, freedom of the press, and the very right to an identity. Rick Falkvinge is the founder and leader of the Swedish Pirate Party, as well as the founder of the international politicized pirate movement. His leadership and vision took the Pirate Party from nothing into the top ten parties in the last Swedish general election, without a dime in the campaign chest. His personal candidacy came in at rank #15 out of over 5,000 candidates for the 349 parliamentary seats. While he didn't win one of those seats due to threshold rules, the Swedish Pirate Party has inspired similar parties to form in over 20 other countries, and the fight for civil liberties against copyright and patent aggression continues. The primary focus of Rick and of the Pirate Party is to fight back against the current copyright aggression and surveillance populism using the one thing lobbyists can never buy - votes in a democratic election. Rick demonstrates how much more than business models are at stake in the copyright debate: today's copyright and essential civil liberties have become mutually exclusive, and society must choose. Rick Falkvinge lives in Stockholm, Sweden. When not engaged in the fight for privacy and citizens' rights, he can usually be found cooking, reading, or riding a motorcycle.