🔗 Share this article

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

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been handed a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the community, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges last month.

In a statement following the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "that infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence other countries 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".