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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 clips 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 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes including over 100 actresses.

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 users were prompted to ask for excerpts of particular actors.

In 2023, campaigners reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.

One actress, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the community, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'An important message'

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

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating violations of artists' entitlements have consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the case could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".