Laura CressTechnology reporter
Getty ImagesA Danish man has been convicted of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the social media site Reddit.
According to a police document seen by BBC News, the man – who is not named in the document – shared 347 clips of nude scenes on the Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
The Danish police say he has been given a seven month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.
Experts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the man had damaged the artists’ “moral rights”.
He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.
From March 2022 to May 2023, the man known as “KlammereFyr” on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the subreddit – or forum – he was a moderator of.
According to the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to request for clips of specific actors.
In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were shared in the group, told the Danish broadcaster DR at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.
The actress said the posts amounted to “abuse”.
‘An important signal’
The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges last month.
In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the ruling sent an “important” signal “that violations of artists’ rights has consequences”.
The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the “moral rights” section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist’s work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.
Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova told the BBC the case was “rare” for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.
How the case could affect other countries is unclear.
But she said there may be “more and more of these actions” in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where “the integrity of one’s work might be tempered with much more easily”.
