Danish man receives deferred prison term for sharing explicit movie scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Danish man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
Danish authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".
He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.
According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of specific actors.
In last year, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.
One actress, among the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the community, told Danish media at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.
The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.
In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights has consequences".
The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.
Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.
The extent to which the case could influence nations abroad is uncertain.
But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".
