Danish national individual receives suspended prison term for posting explicit film scenes on Reddit
A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
Danish police confirm he has been handed a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".
He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the forum he was a administrator of.
Per the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific actors.
In last year, advocates reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.
One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.
The performer stated the posts amounted to "abuse".
'A significant message'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges last month.
In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" message "that infringements of creators' rights has repercussions".
The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.
Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the case could influence nations abroad is unclear.
But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".
