Danish national individual given deferred sentence for distributing nude film scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.
According to a police document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
The country's police confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.
Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the performers' "moral rights".
He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.
From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.
Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of particular actors.
In 2023, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, directors and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were circulated in the community, explained to Danish media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The actress stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges recently.
In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of creators' rights has repercussions".
The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their standing.
Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.
How the ruling could influence nations abroad is unclear.
But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be compromised with greater ease".
