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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit segments from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request clips of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant message'

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

In a comment after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" message "that infringements of creators' rights has repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be tempered with much more easily".