Danish man receives deferred sentence for posting nude movie clips on the social platform Reddit
A Danish citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
Danish police state he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.
Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".
He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.
From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.
He shared them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.
One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to Danish media at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.
The actress stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".
'An important signal'
The man was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges last month.
In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" signal "that violations of creators' entitlements have consequences".
The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.
Copyright law expert a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.
How the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.
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 one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".
