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A Danish man has been convicted of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Experts explain the man was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' rights have repercussions".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

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

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".