🔗 Share this article

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

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude 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 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the man was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing 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 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for clips of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their standing.

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

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".