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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading nude segments from protected movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge ruling that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the man had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to request clips of specific performers.

In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar informed the media the case was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

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

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with with greater ease".