Danish individual given deferred sentence for sharing nude film clips on Reddit

A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

According to a police document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police confirm he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

He shared them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the community, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' entitlements has consequences".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which violates their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be compromised much more easily".