Photo: Ilya Pavlov

Yet another perpetrator behind illegal filesharing platform has been convicted

Feb 9, 2022 | Trials

9. February 2022

The case against the perpetrators of the illegal service Asgaard continues. On the 4th of February, the second culprit was convicted of copyright infringement of a particularly serious nature.

A 43-year-old man was, by the court in Kolding given a three months’ suspended sentence for, along with six other Danish ringleaders, having been behind the now closed pirate service Asgaard. The accused confessed to all circumstances and was, in addition to three months’ imprisonment, sentenced to 60 hours of community service, confiscation of his computer, server and profits of DKK 2,750, as well as a compensation to the rights holders of DKK 35,000.

The now convicted was responsible for setting up and installing the server behind Asgaard as well as the coding of various functions for the website. Asgaard had 23,000 users and provided access to 15,000 files of copyrighted works, several of which were shared prior to their digital premiere. The violated works spanned from TV series, music, literature, comics, audio books and films, including Zentropa’s Oscar-winning film “Druk”.

Anders Kjærhauge, CEO of Zentropa, says:

I am pleased that the authorities and the courts are now vigilant about respecting our film rights. We hope this will spread, not only to the criminal perpetrators and illegal users, but also to the public. It is excellent work by the Rights Alliance and NSK.”

More cases before the court

In October 2020, the Rights Alliance reported several suspected culprits behind Asgaard to SØIK. In December 2020, the first perpetrator was arrested and remained in custody over Christmas and New Year, while SØIK continued the investigation and in January 2021, another six suspects were arrested. The first, of the seven cases was before the court in June, where a 50-year-old man from Middelfart was sentenced to 4 months in prison – one of which was made unconditional. The verdict from Kolding is the second in a series of seven cases. The remaining five accomplices in the case will go to court in 2022.

Maria Fredenslund, CEO of the Rights Alliance, says:

We are very pleased that the perpetrators involved are being held accountable for their crime, and we look forward to following the future cases.”