No, we’re not talking about the sea-faring variety of pirates. The Pirate Party got its start on January 1, 2006 in Sweden. According to the party’s website, it has three main goals: 1) fundamentally reform copyright law, 2) get rid of the patent system, and 3) ensure all citizens’ rights to privacy are respected. In April, The World interviewed the leader of Sweden’s Pirate Party, Rickard Falkvinge. That interview was about the Pirate Bay trial in Sweden, which saw four young men found guilty of violating copyright law. The case helped put the Pirate Party in the political spotlight. In early June, the Swedish Pirate Party captured a seat in the European Parliament. Now, it appears that the Pirate Party is catching on worldwide, including here in the United States.

Click on the player below to hear Cyrus Farivar’s report on the global growth of the Pirate Party.

You can find a list of international chapters of the Pirate Party here.