🔗 Share this article

A Denmark-based man has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

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

The country's police confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips 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 (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for clips of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the group, explained to local media at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' entitlements have consequences".

The ruling is considered unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".