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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

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

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

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

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

According to the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the group, explained to local media at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations recently.

In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" signal "that violations of artists' entitlements have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be tempered with with greater ease".