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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's police state he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to local media at the period she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges last month.

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

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

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".