Johan Schlüter

Johan Schlüter (born 18 June 1944) is a former Danish lawyer who worked with copyright.

Facade of Johan Schlüter law firm

Schlüter was educated as a Candidate of Law at the University of Copenhagen in 1970.[1] 

He was a partner in Berning Schlüter Hald (1990-1998), Schlüter & Hald (1998-1999) and Bech-Bruun Dragsted (1999-2002), until in 2002 he established his own law firm, Johan Schlüter Law Firm, which closed in 2015,[2] and was based at Højbro Square.

In the 1970s, he became involved as a lawyer for the Danish gramophone record industry, (IFPI Danmark) via Bent Fabricius Bjerre,[1][3] and gradually gained a central position as an advisor to Danish rights holders to such an extent that he has been termed "the king of Danish copyright".[4] Among Schlüter's work was the establishment of the Antipirate group and the later association RettighedsAlliancen.[5] One of the cases that Schlüter had for the Antipirat group came in 2011 to a principled Supreme Court judgment on proof-securing.[6]

With Thomas Sehested, Johan Schlüter was also behind the software company DtecNet, which was originally established in 2004 under the name JSA Software.[7] In 2010, the company was sold to the American company MarkMonitor[8] In 2010, DtecNet became gazelle winner.[9]

In 2012 , Schlüter became involved in a French case concerning the administration of the legacy of the French singer Charles Trenet. The French authorities issued an international arrest warrant on Schlüter.[10] In 2014, a French court sent him 18 months of unconditional imprisonment in the case,[11] and subsequently Frenchman Georges El Assidi made a claim of 30 million krone against Schlüter, first at Copenhagen and later at the Eastern High Court. In the case, the Østre Landsret decided that El Assidi could freeze Schlüter's values until the case was finalized in France.[12] The French case was appealed,[13] and ended with an acquittal of Schlüter in the main proceedings.[14]

In the summer of 2015, Schlüter's law firm was reported to the police by the Producerforeningen, which believed that it had at least DKK 100 million worth of benefits.[15] This was done by an independent audit examination revealed serious irregularities in the administration of the companies CAB, Filmret and release print. The administration of the companies was Schlüter and his law firm through the associated company Registrering Danmark ApS.[16] In connection with the case, the law firm, which was reported to the police , dismissed its partner Susanne Fryland and dismissed a third of the employees.[17] On October 2, 2015, finans.dk reported that the law firm was closed and the headquarters escaped,[18] and a few days later, the Maritime and Commercial Court declared the company bankrupt.[19] Schlüter himself was declared bankrupt in December 2015.[20] In February 2016, Schlüter and his third partner, Lars Halgreen , were also charged in the case.[21] In June 2017, the Public Prosecutor for Special Economic Crime brought charges against Schlüter and two other lawyers in Schlüter's law firm. The case was then over 200 million krone and the charges included, among other things, blame andmandate fraud of particularly serious nature.[22] On June 11, 2018 , Schlüter at the Copenhagen City Court was found guilty of grossly mandatory and guilty crimes and sentenced to a prison sentence of 4 years imprisonment. The penalty was made conditional on the age of the judge and "personal relationship". In addition, he was condemned to the right to conduct a law firm.[23] Schlüter received the Koktvedgaard Prize in 2012.[24]

Johan Schlüter is married to Elsebeth and has four children. He has lived in an apartment on the Esplanade and has a summer house in Lumsås.[3][25]

References
  1. "Johan Schlüter" (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  2. "Scandalized law firm is closed after giant scam". finans.dk (in Danish). October 2, 2015.
  3. " The cheerful defender of the originals" (in Danish). Berlingske. June 8, 2014.
  4. Aagaard, Charlotte (July 2, 2015). "The king of Danish copyright wavered" (in Danish).
  5. Tomsen, Casper (December 6, 2002). "Antipirates take on the velvet gloves" (in Danish).
  6. Dilling, Søren; Benner, Torben Benner (March 24, 2011). "Therefore, the Antipirat group lost in the Supreme Court" (in Danish).
  7. Tomsen, Casper (February 9, 2005). "Sharp criticism of Danish anti-pirate software" (in Danish). Computerworld.
  8. Wauters, Robin (October 18, 2010). "MarkMonitor Acquires DtecNet To Combat Online Piracy" (in Danish).
  9. Rasmussen, Knud Teddy (September 23, 2010). "Dtecnet is gazelle winner 2010" (in Danish). The Exchange.
  10. Sørensen, Peter; Mynderup, John (August 7, 2012). "Top lawyer is required to be handed over to France" (in Danish).
  11. Damløv, Louise; Elkjær, Bo (May 14, 2014). "Known Danish lawyer sentenced to 18 months in France". dr.dk (in Danish).
  12. Høberg, Jesper; Aagaard, Jette (February 25, 2015). "Johan Schlüter: A theft by high day is prevented". finans.dk (in Danish).
  13. Høberg, Jesper; Aagaard, Jette (July 1, 2015). "Giant bills hit partners behind the scandalous law firm". finans.dk (in Danish).
  14. Høberg, Jesper; Gram Jensen, Solveig (October 5, 2015). "Controversial celebrity lawyer acquitted in spectacular French fraud" (in Danish).
  15. Elmhøj, Julie (July 2, 2015). "The film industry reports a law firm for millions fraud with rights rights". information.dk (in Danish).
  16. "Member Orientation Manufacturer Association" (in Danish). Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  17. Høberg, Jesper; Aagaard, Jette (July 2, 2015). "Fraudulent law firm fires every third employee" (in Danish).
  18. Høbergcite, Jesper (October 2, 2015). "Scandalized law firm is closed after gigantic fraud". finans.dk (in Danish).
  19. Høbergcite, Jesper (October 6, 2018). "Scandalous law firm has gone bankrupt". finans.dk (in Danish).
  20. Høbergcite, Jesper (December 9, 2015). "Johan Schlüter is declared bankrupt". finans.dk (in Danish).
  21. Høbergcite, Jesper (February 26, 2016). "The backman's police are aiming for top lawyers in the rape case of Copydan money fraud". inans.dk (in Danish).
  22. Winther, Alexander Falck (June 22, 2017). "The backman's policy raises charges against top lawyers for 200 million". borsen.dk (in Danish).
  23. Kristensen, Michael Aae (June 11, 2018). "Lawyers sentenced to millions fraud against broadcasters" (in Danish).
  24. "Prize winner 2012 - FEMR - The Association for Entertainment and Media" (in Danish).
  25. Høberg, Jesper (January 26, 2016). "Bankrupt lawyer and wife sells Copenhagen apartment for 20 million". finans.dk (in Danish).
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