The creators and operators of the Pirate Bay, a website which allowed users to share music, movies and pictures, have been found guilty in a trial in their native Sweden.

Handing down a verdict which could see them pay 30 million Swedish krona (£2.4 million), Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundstrom will all have to serve a year after being seen as encouraging illegal activities which undermined copyright on data which was shared.

The website, which continues to run as normal, was brought in front of the court by a number of huge corporations involved in the arts industries, including Sony BMG, EMI, Universal and Warner Bros Entertainment.

Commenting on the judgement, chairman and chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry John Kennedy said: "This is good news for everyone, in Sweden and internationally, who is making a living or a business from creative activity, and who needs to know their rights will protected by law."

The Pirate Bay was officially established on November 21st 2003 to promote bit-torrent technology, according to the website.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).