A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude segments from protected films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.
According to a police report obtained by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
Danish authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.
Legal analysts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "moral rights".
He has also 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 adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.
He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
Per the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.
In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.
The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".
'An important signal'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.
In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of artists' rights have consequences".
The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their standing.
Copyright law specialist a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.
The extent to which the case could influence other countries is unclear.
But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".
