Danish national individual given suspended prison term for posting explicit film clips on the social platform Reddit

A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements have consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their reputation.

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

How the case could influence other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".