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Man arrested and sentenced for piracy
A 37-year-old man has been given a 60-day suspended prison sentence for pirating over a thousand works via local BitTorrent trackers. The conviction is the result of a wider crackdown on local torrent trackers, where operators and users were brought to justice. In addition to the sentence, the man also agreed to pay nearly $1,500 in damages to the anti-piracy group Rights Alliance.
Closure of Danish torrent trackers
Danish law enforcement authorities have been hard at work shutting down the thriving local torrent tracker scene.
It all began in September and October 2020 when DanishBits and NordicBits ceased operations following the alleged identification and arrest of their operators.
The closure of these sites was a blow to the local piracy ecosystem, but it wasn't long before other sites took over. Both Asgaard and ShareUniversity opened their doors to new members, resulting in explosive growth.
The difference in this case, however, is that the law enforcement authorities kept up the pressure. Aided by local anti-piracy group Rights Alliance, Danish police quickly targeted these fast-growing sites, which soon met the same fate.
A rare crackdown on private torrent trackers
This type of repressive action against private torrent trackers is rare, but rights holders felt it was essential to have the greatest possible impact on the file-sharing habits of Danes. The authorities seem to agree, as their actions were not limited to simply disconnecting the sites; they were followed by legal proceedings.
Conviction of a "serial offender
In recent years, the Danish torrent crackdown has resulted in more than a dozen convictions. These include prison sentences, most of which are conditional. Last week, another conviction was added to this ever-growing list.
A Danish court has sentenced a 37-year-old man from Jylland to a 60-day suspended prison sentence, for uploading over a thousand works online. These pirated versions were shared via several torrent trackers, including DanishBytes, SuperBits and NorTor.
In addition to the prison sentence, the man, described as a "serial offender", also agreed to pay 10,000 Danish kroner (~$1,500) in damages to Rights Alliance.
Deterring future pirates
According to Jan Østergaard, special prosecutor at NSK, the conviction once again sends a clear message to site operators and users that copyright infringement can result in severe penalties.
"I'm pleased with the sentence, which is based on solid investigative work. The verdict sends a clear signal to all file-sharers that illegal sharing of movies, music and other copyrighted content can have serious consequences," notes Østergaard.
Rights Alliance Executive Director Maria Fredenslund is also pleased with the outcome, stressing that these convictions have a deterrent effect.
"High penalties have a preventative effect on illegal file-sharing, so we're pleased that this case can make a positive contribution to content protection in the future," she says.
More convictions to come
Since the crackdown began at the end of 2020, thirteen cases involving operators and users of torrent trackers such as Asgaard, DanishBytes, Notor and SuperBits have resulted in successful convictions.
These cases include six against the ringleaders of the Asgaard tracker. The prosecution of the seventh and final operator of the defunct torrent site is more complex, and that trial is scheduled for February 2024.
Later this month, an alleged operator of the ShareUniversity tracker will also appear in court, which means the courts certainly haven't finished with these cases yet.
An overview of some of Denmark's most recent piracy-related convictions, provided by Rights Alliance, is presented below.
| Targets | Service | Judgment date | |
| users and uploaders | DanishBytes, Notor, SuperBits | 13.09.2023 | |
| users and uploaders | Asgaard | 22.06.2023 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 24.04.2023 | |
| driver(s) | Seedbox | 28.02.2023 | |
| users and uploaders | DanishBytes | 25.11.2022 | |
| driver(s) | DanishBytes | 14.11.2022 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 03.11.2022 | |
| users and uploaders | SuperBits / Nielsen Networks | 01.09.2022 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 15.03.2022 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 15.03.2022 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 04.02.2022 | |
| driver(s) | Asgaard | 15.06.2021 | |
| driver(s) | DanishBits | 27.04.2021 | |
| users and uploaders | DanishBits | 23.03.2021 | |
| driver(s) | Plex-server | 03.03.2021 | |
| driver(s) | NextGen | 07.05.2020 | |
| users and uploaders | DanishBits | 12.02.2020 | |
| users and uploaders | DanishBits | 25.06.2019 | |
| driver(s) | Movielocker | 01.11.2018 |
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