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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish police state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring 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 clips of specific actors.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, told local media at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating violations of artists' entitlements has consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the case could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".