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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from protected films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for clips of particular performers.

In last year, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way 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 dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could affect other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".