Danish national individual given deferred prison term for distributing nude movie clips on Reddit
A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.
Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.
Danish police state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.
Legal analysts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".
He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.
From March 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.
He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.
Per the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.
In 2023, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The actress said the posts constituted "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The man was detained in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.
In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of artists' entitlements have repercussions".
The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.
Copyright law expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.
The extent to which the case could affect other countries is unclear.
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".
