Danish national man given deferred sentence for sharing nude movie scenes on Reddit
A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online platform Reddit.
Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.
The country's police state he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.
Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.
According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of specific actors.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.
One actress, one of the performers whose explicit content were circulated in the group, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The performer said the uploads amounted to "abuse".
'A significant message'
The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.
In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "that infringements of creators' entitlements has consequences".
The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.
Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the case could influence other countries is unclear.
But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".
