🔗 Share this article

A Danish man has been convicted of uploading nude segments from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for clips of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude content were shared in the group, told local media at the period she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".