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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit scenes were shared in the group, explained to Danish media at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

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

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of creators' rights has repercussions".

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

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

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

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