The UK Pirate Party is preparing for its first General Election campaign - and it has a few radical proposals up its sleeve.

Its newly launched manifesto, includes calls to legalise file-sharing, cut back copyright to ten years and set free BBC content.

Here, the party's leader Andrew Robinson explains why the policies would actually be good for both end users and industry.

Q. The Pirate Party wants the copyright period reduced to ten years, but the music and film industries make money from their back catalogues. Won't this harm these industries?

A. Not at all. Copyright is also a big problem for the music and film industries, which have to deal with copyright holders for scripts or old books and stories.

For example, the makers of the Lord of the Rings franchise were locked in a $200 million legal dispute with someone who just happened to be the grandchild of Tolkein. Expenses like that would be saved under our proposed copyright changes.

Q. You’re calling for the legalisation of file-sharing. Won’t this increase the number of downloads and the damage it’s allegedly doing to the culture industries?

A. Of course more people will do it if it’s legalised. We think an increase in file-sharing is a good thing for the culture industries. If you are not one of the few people who are lucky enough to be signed to a big record label then it’s virtually impossible to advertise yourself in the same way.

Q. What about those who do have the big contracts - won’t they continue to lose money?

A. We’re talking about legalising something that already happens here. And I’m sure that big names like U2 will still have huge numbers of people coming to their gigs.

Q. The manifesto calls for a change in ISP tariffs, allowing users to only pay for the fraction of the claimed broadband speed that the provider delivers. What's the thinking behind that?

A. It is to give ISPs an incentive to improve their actual speeds. There is currently no incentive for ISPs to upgrade. This way they will see an immediate return on their investment and it’s better for consumers.

Q. Under your proposals, the BBC mustn't apply DRM to its content. Wouldn’t this make the BBC less competitive as a broadcaster and hinder its ability to show third-party content?

A. In our manifesto we do say that the BBC should be releasing all its content – not content from third parties. We understand that we can’t ask it to purchase third-party content and then just make it free. This only applies to content made by or commissioned by the BBC.

Q. How many seats will the Pirate Party contest in the UK?

A. As many as we can afford, really. We have two so far with eight more in the pipeline, but we’ve still got to find funding for a couple of the last ones.

The Pirate Party has launched its manifesto, calling for an overhaul in copyright law and consumer privacy online.

The copyright crusading party, which only formed its UK branch last year, is planning to field at least two candidates in this summer's General Election. The Swedish branch of the party won two seats in last year’s EU elections.

Its UK manifesto argues copyright law has become “biased” as a result of money and pressure from lobbying groups.

“Currently copyright carries on for more than 70 years after the author of a work dies. We believe… 10 years of copyright protection is long enough," the party's manifesto states. "Shorter copyright will encourage artists to keep on creating new work, will allow new art forms… and will stop big businesses from constantly reselling content we have already paid for.”

Shorter copyright will encourage artists to keep on creating new work… and will stop big businesses from constantly reselling content we have already paid for

“Our ten year copyright length will include a renewal after five years (allowing works that the creator is no longer interested in to fall into the public domain after five years),” the manifesto states, adding the practice of “restarting the clock” on copyright by shifting the content to a different format will also be scrapped.

With the subject of file-sharing at the centre of the Government’s Digital Economy Bill, the Pirate Party is also calling for the practice to be legalised provided “no money changes hands”.

The party says this will overhaul copyright laws in favour of the consumer, as it will legalise format shifting (ie. from a CD to an iPod, which is currently illegal) and file-sharing, which the party argues “provides free advertising that is essential for less well-known artists”.

‘You already pay for this’

A major overhaul of the BBC is also called for. “[The BBC] is funded by the licence-paying public and should therefore belong to the licence paying public,” the party argues. The use of DRM by the broadcaster will be blocked and all content will be placed in the public domain under a Creative Commons licence.

The party is also calling for an explanatory warning label to be placed on any products containing DRM, in order to educate the public on the “defects” inherent in the products.

These include region coding, or products that can be remotely turned off by the manufacturer, or must "phone home" and would therefore stop working if the manufacturer went bankrupt.

I wonder how soon that some of the Pirate party's pledges are incorporated into other parties manifestos?

Depends how many backhanders the BPI are giving out.

haha, i can finally vote this year, and now i definitely know where its going

Assuming they're standing on your constituency . Although you could always spoil your ballot by writing "Pirate Party UK" across it.

Depends how many backhanders the BPI are giving out.

I'd rather vote BNP than BPI, they considerably more moderate on law and order.