🔗 Share this article

A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

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

Legal analysts say the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.

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

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit content were circulated in the community, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' rights has repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".