It may seem like a small thing to base a political party on, but with the aid of computer file sharing, millions of people infringe on copyrights every day and thousands are sued. That's because laws are broken and need to be changed, says Ray Jensen of Ogden.

And so from across the high seas comes the political Pirate Party.

Jensen, a father of three, doesn't condone illegal activity and doesn't swap music files. But the enforcement of what he calls unfair copyright laws is leading to invasions of privacy and violations of civil liberties -- two issues increasingly on the minds of Americans, he said.

The Pirate Party (illegal downloaders are often referred to as "pirates") was launched in Sweden early last year and claims thousands of members. An American version formed quickly after.

Utah is the first state where party promoters hope to establish themselves.

"They want to do away with freedoms and civil liberties we've got, all in the name of profits," Jensen said of the recording and movie industries. Jensen, who's never been in politics, said he found out about the Pirate Party after a friend received a threatening letter from the Recording Industry Association of America for downloading music he hadn't paid for.

The RIAA has also recently subpoenaed Internet Service Providers for the identification of four Utah County residents, alleging they downloaded music without paying for it. The industry claims billions of dollars in losses each year from copyright infringement.

Copyright laws were enacted to protect artists' creations, but the length of copyrights has been stretched from less than two decades initially, to life plus 70 years in many cases.

Take "Happy Birthday," which has its roots in an 1893 greeting song. Journalists, like this one, are protected by the First Amendment and can thus print the little ditty without forking over royalties. A group of servers at Chili's, however, can't sing those magical 16 words on your very special day or it will cost them. That's why birthday revelers get some sort of mutated version complete with clapping and perhaps yodeling.

According to Snopes.com, "Happy Birthday" brings in $2 million a year in royalties. Its creator, Mildred J. Hill, died in 1916.

For its part, the Pirate Party is alive, though more a fragile newborn than a civil rights-protecting juggernaut.

"Right now we're just working to be in a position to do something about it. It just takes time and effort," said Andrew Norton, interim chairman of the national movement.

The effort in Utah requires 2,000 signatures, a name and a logo, all delivered to the lieutenant governor's office. Jensen and two others started collecting signatures this week and had about 50 on Friday. They have to have the petition completed by Feb. 15 if they want candidates in the 2008 elections.

But why Utah, a place so thoroughly dominated by one partyfi

The answer is a familiar one and often used by most parties not represented by an elephant and the color red: Utah really is diverse.

"We do have remarkable diversity, but most of the outlying areas are conservative," Jensen says. "There's not really a lot of representation for moderates."

Potential Pirate Party members may also have a hard time affiliating themselves with a party that brings to mind plunderers, a Disney ride and Johnny Depp.

"They balk a little bit about the name, they really do," Jensen said.

So you want to start a political partyfi

Gather 2,000 signatures of registered voters

Create a party name and emblem (not more than four words and must be distinguishable from other parties)

Write up a process that the organization will follow to organize, and adopt a constitution and bylaws

Assign a liaison officer to the Lt. Governor's office and mail or fax your information to:

Utah State Capitol Complex

East Office Building, Suite E325

Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-2325

Fax (801) 538-1133

There are only three parties now recognized by the state: Republican, Democrat and Constitution. That's because parties must win 2 percent of the total Utah vote for the U.S. House of Representatives (11,394 in 2006) or face losing their status.

Here's a list of recent parties in Utah that have lost their status:

American

Desert Greens

Green

Independent Patriot

Independent American

Libertarian

Natural Law

Personal Choice

Populist

Reform

Socialist Workers

U.S. Taxpayers

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.