Danish national individual receives deferred prison term for posting explicit film scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed man posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
The country's police confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 actresses.
He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
According to the Danish anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to request clips of specific performers.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.
One actress, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, told Danish media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.
The performer said the posts amounted to "abuse".
'An important signal'
The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.
In a comment after the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights have consequences".
The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.
Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
How the ruling could influence other countries is unclear.
But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".
