The first Kopimistic couple was married late last month.
There were vows, a kiss, and a crowd full of supportive friends. But there was very little else normal about the first couple married as part of Sweden's information and file-sharing religion.
Believers of Kopimism, which became an officially-recognized religion in Sweden earlier this year, think information sharing is a vital part of human existence—regardless of law. With more than 6,000 followers and branches in 18 countries, including the United States, perhaps a Kopimist wedding was inevitable.
[Learn More About the Tenets of Kopimism]
The couple—a Romanian woman and an Italian man—were married late last month at Belgrade's SHARE conference, a three day festival celebrating new Internet and media developments.
The presiding priest, or Kopimistic "Op" wore a Guy Fawkes mask as a computer read vows and some of Kopimism's central beliefs aloud.
"We are here to announce a new pair of noble peers. Copying of information is simply right. Dissemination of information is ethically right. Copying and remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect," it said. "Do you want to share your love, your knowledge, and your feelings with [the bride] as long as that information exists?"
The couple kissed and it became official under the Kopimist religion. In a statement on its official website, Isak Gerson, the 20-year-old founder of Kopimism, wrote that a Kopimist wedding was "unavoidable."
"Hopefully, they will copy and remix some DNA-cells and create a new human being," he wrote. "That is the spirit of Kopimism. Feel the love and share that information. Copy all of its holiness."
Jason Koebler is a science and technology reporter for U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at jkoebler@usnews.com
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stevchipmunk of PA 1:16AM May 08, 2012
Agtrier 6:43PM May 07, 2012