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A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking 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 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes 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 (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request clips of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude content were shared in the community, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

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

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an creator's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

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

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".