Danish national man receives deferred prison term for sharing nude movie scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Danish citizen has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from protected films and television shows on the online site Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
Danish police confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.
According to the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to ask for clips of particular actors.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The actress said the posts amounted to "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.
In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating violations of creators' rights have repercussions".
The ruling is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.
Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.
But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".
