Law & enforcement

Rights Alliance is the leading organization in Denmark that specializes in the enforcement of copyright on the Internet. Rights Alliance handles online IPR infringements on behalf of the creative industry, which includes film, music, literature, text, images and design. In our work, we conduct our own investigations and document copyright infringements. In addition, we assist authorities and the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime’s (SØIK) IP Task Force by guiding and consulting in connection with investigations, etc.

The legal work of the Rights Alliance centres on test cases, litigation and blockings. Test cases are conducted several times a year, where the legality of new technical methods for distributing products illegally is tested in court. Examples of test cases include, i.a., the blocking in December 2017 of the decentralized service Popcorn Time, and in 2018, Rights Alliance, as the first in the world, got a stream ripping service blocked that allowed access to convert and download music from YouTube. In 2019, we also conducted a number of test cases against the distribution of illegal live sports and illegal TV content, as we saw its use increase. The test cases are important, as there is a constant need for the legal system to adapt to digitalisation, which is why we are testing new approaches to develop the legal framework. In doing so, we highlight the legal barriers that exist today, and we are able to document the need for improvements and adaptations to the digital world.

Rights Alliance, of course, also wants to hold the organized criminal services and the people behind accountable, but since they are usually located abroad and work anonymously, we work more unconventionally than in the case of Danish criminals, to stop the distribution and the Danish traffic to such services. Here we collaborate, i.a.. with the Telecom Industry Association to block illegal foreign sites, and we have developed the law in the field to enable dynamic blockings of illegal services, so that a blocking decision applies not only to the individual URL, but also includes new similar websites that occur continuously, also called mirror sites.

In addition to the test cases, 4-5 ordinary blocking requests are submitted to the courts on an annual basis, each of which concerning 20-30 of the most commonly used illegal services among the Danes, as well as associated mirror sites. The cases are referred to as ordinary, as they concern technology and law, which the courts have already dealt with in previous blocking cases. Experience shows that these blockings have the immediate, direct effect of reducing the number of monthly visits to the illegal services by 74 per cent after 4-5 months from the court order.

IP-Taskforce

In 2017, then-Minister of Justice Søren Pape Poulsen set up a special unit under the State Prosecutor for Serious Economic and International Crime (SØIK) to focus on the handling of IP crime, which was dubbed the IP Task Force. The task force was established at the request of Rights Alliance and focuses on organized and systematic IP crime. The government’s decision to establish an IP Task Force became a major and important step in the fight against IP crime and at the same time a recognition that it is a common challenge that requires a focused effort. In 2018, the Task Force became permanent.

Since its establishment, the IP Task Force has proven to be of great effect. Shortly after the establishment, a number of copyright infringement cases were launched, making the presence of the police visible on the Internet – a presence that, in addition to the immediate effect on the distribution and the criminals, also has an important preventive effect on users. Through police actions and information on this, it has become clear to users that it is illegal to upload and download illegal copies – and it has become evident, that the police are also present on digital platforms.

Rights Alliance continues to work to ensure that the police themselves are able to block illegal websites – the so-called authority blockings, just as it does today through the courts. Authority blockings entered the political agenda in 2019, when the recommendations from the Government’s Growth Team for Creative Industries in their initiatives put authority blockings as a tool to improve the conditions of the creative industries.

Blockings are a crucial tool for limiting illegal services, and when we see that the number of these illegal services is increasing and that they are also constantly developing new methods for sharing illegal content, it is also necessary that we keep up with that development. Therefore, we must increase both the extent and number of blockings as well as the speed of implementation of a blocking. Thus, the blocking process needs to be efficient, and the resources of the IP Task Force need to be increased further.