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

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

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

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.

Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose explicit scenes were shared in the community, told Danish media at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "that violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert 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.

How the ruling could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".