Danish national man given suspended sentence for sharing explicit film scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.
Based on a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.
The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".
He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.
From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.
He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.
Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of particular actors.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.
One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".
'An important signal'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.
In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" signal "indicating infringements of creators' rights has consequences".
The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.
Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the case could influence other countries is uncertain.
But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised much more easily".
