Denmark’s Public Prosecutor for Special Economic and International Crime (SØIK) arrested two people in mid-April for illegally redistributing 4,000 channels of unlicensed TV programming over the Internet; reaching about 1,500 users. The agency announced the arrests on April 14.
Speaking for a prepared statement, Liza Pallesen, the acting police commissioner at SØIK, said that “On the basis of a thorough investigation, we can hold the two detainees accountable for their illegal distribution of television signals. Now we must have reviewed the seized material – and in that connection it can not be ruled out that cases will be brought against the people who have bought the illegal subscriptions.”
The two men were charged with copyright infringement after homes were searched by specialists from the National Cyber Crime Center of the Danish National Police. Cash in the amount of 500,000 Danish Krone was seized, presumably proceeds from subscribers. Once charged, the men were released.
Second, following up on an earlier case, one of the individuals involved with DanishBits and NordicBits, the last two video piracy sites operating from Denmark – which was shut down in October, at which time he was arrested – has been extradited from Morocco to Denmark. On March 18, he was sentenced to 25 days in prison by the Copenhagen City Court.
Read further details about the Morocco extradition and the case behind it from SØIK
Why it matters
Anti-piracy cases take time to research, conduct, and then evaluate. One case, Megaupload – which also has involved an extradition – has lasted for more than a decade.
Both of these cases were supported by the Rights Alliance, a Danish anti-piracy group.