Danish individual receives deferred sentence for sharing explicit movie clips on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and television shows on the online platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
The country's authorities state he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the man had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.
From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
Per the Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request clips of particular actors.
In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.
One actress, among the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.
The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".
'A significant message'
The defendant 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 Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "that infringements of artists' rights have consequences".
The ruling is considered unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their standing.
Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
How the case could influence other countries is uncertain.
But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".
