Danish national man receives deferred prison term for sharing explicit film scenes on Reddit
A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from protected movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
The country's police confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.
Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "moral rights".
He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected data.
From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.
According to the Denmark's copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of particular performers.
In last year, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".
'A significant signal'
The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.
In a statement following the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights have repercussions".
The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.
Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.
But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".
