🔗 Share this article

A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected films and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips 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 given a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for clips of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "that infringements of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their standing.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

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

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be tempered with with greater ease".