🔗 Share this article

A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

Danish police state he has been handed a 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted 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 harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 female performers.

He shared 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 subscribers and participants were encouraged to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In last year, advocates reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local 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 posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" message "indicating violations of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could affect nations abroad 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 creative output might be compromised with greater ease".