Sweden's Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by filesharing site The Pirate Bay's founders, leaving them facing the jail terms and large fines levied by an appeals court in 2010.
As anti-piracy lobbyists celebrated the decision, the website moved to change its URL from .org to the Swedish .se domain.
Indications are that this move was made to prevent the US authorities from seizing the domain, which is now a very real risk now that the final appeal has been rejected.
With MegaUpload shut down and its big-living founder Kim Dotcom jailed in New Zealand amid much controversy, it makes sense that The Pirate Bay is again the largest torrent site - and therefore a prime target for a seizure by the authorities.
This hasn't escaped the attention of the admins who, by redirecting The Pirate Bay to a Swedish domain, have effectively put it outside the reach of American authorities.
As a gesture of defiance, The Pirate Bay displayed a long message aimed that the authorities:
"The Pirate Bay will reach an age of 9 years. Experiencing raids, espionage and death threats, we're still here. We've been through hell and back and it has made us tougher than ever. The people running the site has changed during the years. No sane human being would put up with this kind of pressure for 8 years in a row. An insane hobby that takes time from our families, our work (sorry boss) and our studies."
The Pirate Bay website may have been moved out of harm's way, but how long it remains live remains to be seen as the copyright war continues to escalate.