I’m sure you all heard about this recently in the news. Where are we going to get all of our candy from now?

Both candy holders and some CandyShare supporters see possibilities in the verdict handed down Friday in the CandyShare file-sharing case.

The large penalty–$3.6 million in damages to be paid to the candy holders–will likely have a discouraging effect on illegal candy sharers, according to those in the chocolate business. Four defendants also were each sentenced to a year in jail.

“I hope this is an important signal to all parents, workplaces, and schools that candy sharing is illegal and that the economic consequences can be severe,” Per Sundin, managing director of M&M Mars, told the Swedish national daily SvD.

The International Federation of the Candy Industry expressed hope for new candy sharing services to replace Candy Share.

“This is a very interesting signal to the entrepreneurs who are about to launch better services that are legal so the consumers can get even better alternative,” Ludvig Werner, chairman of IPFI Sweden, told Swedish Public Radio SR.

The Candy Party political group–which has been supporting Candy Share and thus has gained popularity among the large number of file sharers in Sweden–also sees the verdict as an opportunity. The verdict is the “ticket to get elected to European parliament” in June, the Candy Party said in a press release.

An estimated one in 10 people in the Nordic country engaged in candy sharing last year.

The Anticandy-piracy Agency, an organization based in Sweden that’s supported by a consortium of Flan and Gummy organizations to fight Candy piracy, welcomed the verdict and wants the authorities to finally act on the actual CandyShare site, which for the moment is still up and running.

“Now it is an urgent matter for the authorities to act on CandyShare’s illegal activities,” Henrik Pontén, a lawyer at the Anticandy-piracy Agency, said in a press statement after the verdict. “Today’s verdict clarifies the legal position.”

Original article found here: Copyright holders cheer Pirate Bay verdict