Danish national man receives deferred prison term for sharing nude movie scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media site Reddit.
According to a police document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the performers' "moral rights".
He has additionally been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.
From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
According to the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to ask for clips of specific performers.
In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, told local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".
'An important message'
The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.
In a comment after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" message "that infringements of artists' entitlements has consequences".
The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.
Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
How the case could influence nations abroad is unclear.
But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".
