Danish man given deferred sentence for distributing nude film clips on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.
Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.
The country's authorities confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.
Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".
He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips including over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request clips of specific actors.
In last year, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.
The performer stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".
'An important signal'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges last month.
In a statement following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of artists' rights has repercussions".
The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.
Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.
The extent to which the ruling could influence other countries 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 sanctity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".
