A ‘church’ whose central tenet is the right to file-share has been formally recognised by the Swedish government, with its founder hoping the process will be given religious protection.
‘The Church of Kopimism’ has been registered as a religious organization by the Swedish governmental agency Kammarkollegiet.
Its members claims that “kopyacting” – sharing information through copying – is akin to a religious service.
For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament, it said in a statement, and adds that information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains, and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore, copying is central for the organization and its members.
The organisation was founded by 19-year-old philosophy student and leader Isak Gerson. He hopes that file-sharing will now be given religious protection.
“For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore copying is central for the organisation and its members,” he said in a statement.
“Being recognised by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of Kopimi. Hopefully this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution,” he added.
The church, which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V (shortcuts for copy and paste) as sacred symbols, does not directly promote illegal file sharing, focusing instead on the open distribution of knowledge to all.
The church’s website has been unavailable since it broke the news of its religious status. A message urged those interested in joining to “come back in a couple of days when the storm has settled”.
To be registered as a religion, an organization has to live up to a number of demands. They include organizing religious activities and deciding on statutes that detail its purpose and how decisions are made.
The establishment of the church comes amid a backdrop of governmental zero-tolerance towards piracy.
The crackdown on piracy has moved focus away from individual pirates and more towards the ecosystem that supports piracy.
In the US, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) aims to stop online ad networks and payment processors from doing business with foreign websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.
