🔗 Share this article

A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing nude segments from protected movies and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of specific actors.

In last year, campaigners filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors 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 Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "that violations of creators' entitlements has consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which violates their standing.

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

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

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".