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A Denmark-based man has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities state he has been handed a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

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

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were circulated in the group, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in September 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" signal "that violations of artists' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".