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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Legal analysts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for clips of particular performers.

In last year, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were shared in the group, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges recently.

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" signal "that infringements of creators' entitlements have consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which violates their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".