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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

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

He distributed them in the forum he was a moderator of.

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request clips of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose explicit content were circulated in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

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

In a comment after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of artists' rights have repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".