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

According to a police document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were shared in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" signal "that violations of creators' entitlements has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

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

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

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