🔗 Share this article

A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from protected films and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the footage 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 May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the community, told Danish media at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be compromised with greater ease".