A Reddit moderator known as “KlammereFyr” was recently convicted by a Danish court after clipping and posting hundreds of nude scenes that actresses filmed for movies and TV shows but apparently never expected to be shared out of context.
As TorrentFreak reported, dozens of actresses had complained about the mod’s sub-reddit, “SeDetForPlottet” (WatchItForthePlot), with some feeling “molested or abused.”
Demanding Danish police put an end to the forum, the Rights Alliance—representing the Danish Actors’ Association, two broadcasters, and other rightsholders—pushed for a criminal probe.
The groups argued that KlammereFyr removed the artistic context and immorally sexualized actors, sometimes by cropping scenes or “changing the lighting to accentuate certain features,” TorrentFreak reported.
To groups, it seemed clear that KlammereFyr was violating a rarely tested part of copyright law that protects artists’ “integrity” by shielding their “moral rights.”
In Denmark, the “right of integrity means that even in cases where you are allowed to make use of a work, you are not allowed to change it or use it in a way or in a context that infringes the author’s literary or artistic reputation or uniqueness,” a resource for Danish researchers noted.
Ultimately, a now 40-year-old man was charged after confessing to violating moral rights by sharing at least 347 clips featuring over 100 actresses that a Danish outlet reported were viewed 4.2 million times. He was also charged with sharing over 25 terabytes of pirated content, using a private torrent tracker called Superbits.org, TorrentFreak noted.
Following his confession, the Court of Frederiksberg convicted the Redditor, sentencing him to a seven-month conditional prison sentence, followed by 120 hours of community service. Next, the Reddit mod will face a separate civil lawsuit to determine damages, which could be substantial. Rightsholders are seeking between $2,300–$4,600 per nude clip, TorrentFreak reported, putting the maximum possible award above $1.5 million.
Landmark case may influence how US views “moral rights”
The conviction represents the “first criminal conviction” based on the Danish copyright law’s “right of respect,” TorrentFreak reported. In a statement, special prosecutor Jan Østergaard praised the court for taking the issue seriously.
Similarly pleased with the outcome, Maria Ventegodt, director of the Danish Actors’ Association, issued a statement celebrating the ruling. She suggested the win goes beyond giving actors peace of mind when filming or choosing roles.
“The decision is also important for the art of film and the opportunity to make good stories on film, because the actors can now have confidence that the authorities will crack down hard on the screening of nude scenes out of context,” Ventegodt said.
Whether the landmark ruling will impact how other countries view sex scenes from movies taken out of context remains unclear. TorrentFreak noted that there are plenty of sub-reddits dedicated to sharing nude scenes from Hollywood movies that could possibly be targeted if the US were to agree they violate artists’ moral rights.
However, the US doesn’t offer the same level of strong protections for artists’ moral rights, a Copyright Office study concluded in 2019 after serving laws like Denmark’s. “The right to prevent prejudicial distortions of one’s work,” the study found, is only protected “through a patchwork of federal and state laws, as well as industry customs and private ordering.”
To address gaps or strengthen protections, the Office provided a roadmap to update laws, like amending the Lanham Act and the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990. The US could also pass a federal right of publicity law, which could “serve as a floor for minimum protections for an individual’s name, signature, image, and voice against commercial exploitation during their lifetime,” the Office recommended.
Rights Alliance director Maria Fredenslund suggested that moral rights will become even more important, as artificial intelligence advancements have made it easier than ever to create convincing fake sex scenes or nudes. So-called deepfakes are already banned in the US under the Take It Down Act, and Fredenslund said it will only become more “crucial” for legal systems to clearly mark “where the line is drawn” when it comes to respecting artists’ integrity “in a future where we expect far more AI-generated and manipulated content.”
The Mac OS 1.0 calculator seen in situ with other desk accessories.
Credit:
Apple / Benj Edwards


