STOCKHOLM, Sweden -The pirates of Sweden have embolden others in their historic victory this week winning a seat in the European parliament. In existence for only three years, the controversial Pirate Party of Sweden not only can finally claim a certain legitimacy beyond the maniacal fervor of its adherents after gaining enough votes to claim the coveted one seat, but now others are determined to follow in their electoral footsteps.

Monsters and Critics reports that Slovak and Czech supporters of relaxed or obliterated copyright laws allowing unrestricted file sharing and downloads of content have said that the Swedes’ victory has inspired them to start their own pirate parties.

“We decided on the basis of the Swedish Pirate Party’s success in the European election and when we saw that Czechs are also doing something similar,” a co-founder of the planned Slovak Pirate Party who spoke on condition of anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa.

M&C says that the Slovak backers plan to introduce the party’s preparatory committee and programme on June 19 and run in the 2010 parliamentary election.

The Czech party planners began their preparations in April, after a Swedish court sentenced the owners of The Pirate Bay to one year in jail on charges of violating copyright law. The Czech Pirate Party applied for registration in May and plans to run in the country’s early general election in mid-October.

“When we started out we did not know whether they would win,” Kamil Horky, the party’s co-founder, told dpa, referring to the Swedish Pirate Party. “We welcome their success. It will help us.”