🔗 Share this article

A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

He has additionally been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

He shared 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 participants were encouraged to request clips of particular performers.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, explained to local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" signal "that infringements of artists' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".