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A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to mid-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 Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the group, explained to local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of creators' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their standing.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

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

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".