Danish national man receives deferred prison term for sharing nude film clips on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit segments from protected films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.
Based on a police document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
The country's police confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.
Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".
He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.
He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.
According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to ask for clips of specific actors.
In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The performer said the posts amounted to "abuse".
'An important signal'
The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.
In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" signal "that infringements of artists' entitlements have repercussions".
The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.
Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.
How the case could affect nations abroad 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 sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".
