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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose explicit scenes were shared in the group, explained to Danish media at the period she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" message "indicating violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".