Danish individual receives suspended prison term for distributing nude movie scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from protected films and television shows on the online site Reddit.
According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.
The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.
Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's 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 also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.
From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes including over 100 female performers.
He shared them in the forum he was a moderator of.
Per the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to request excerpts of specific performers.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.
One actress, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The actress said the posts constituted "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.
In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights have consequences".
The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.
Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.
The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.
But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".