🔗 Share this article

A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

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

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.

He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.

Per the Danish anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request clips of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges 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 "indicating infringements of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could affect nations abroad 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 work might be compromised much more easily".