Danish national individual given suspended prison term for distributing nude film scenes on Reddit
A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.
Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".
He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.
From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.
According to the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request clips of specific actors.
In last year, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.
One actress, among the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, told Danish media at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".
'A significant signal'
The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges recently.
In a statement after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' entitlements has repercussions".
The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.
Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
How the ruling could affect nations abroad is unclear.
But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".
