Three founders of The Pirate Bay have lost an appeal against a conviction for illegally sharing copyrighted content.

A Swedish appeals court on Friday upheld a ruling against three men behind file sharing website Pirate Bay, cutting their prison sentences and raising the fine.

The court upheld the 2009 ruling against the site's founders which saw them sentenced to a year in jail and heavily fined.

The ruling reduces the sentences the men face but increases fines to 46 million crowns (4.94 million euros, 6.53 million dollars). According to the original 2009 ruling, the men had to pay around 32 million kronor (3.43 million euros, 4.54 million dollars) in damages to the movie and recording industries.

Lawyers acting for music labels and movie studios alleged that via The Pirate Bay, the four men helped people circumvent copyright controls.

The founders defended themselves by saying that The Pirate Bay did not host any pirated material directly.

The appeal court ruling will see Mr Neij serve a 10 month sentence; Mr Sunde eight months and Mr Lundstrom four months.

"Today's judgment confirms the illegality of The Pirate Bay and the seriousness of the crimes of those involved. It is now time for The Pirate Bay, whose operators have twice been convicted in court, to close. We now look to governments and ISPs to take note of this judgment, do the responsible thing and take the necessary steps to get The Pirate Bay shut down," said the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry in a statement.