A Danish citizen has been convicted of sharing nude segments from protected movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.
Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
The country's authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.
Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has additionally been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.
From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 actresses.
He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.
Per the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of particular performers.
In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.
One actress, among the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".
'A significant message'
The man was arrested in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges last month.
In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".
The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.
Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.
The extent to which the case could affect other countries is unclear.
But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".
