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A Danish citizen has been convicted of sharing nude scenes from protected films and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a police document reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of artists' rights have consequences".

The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

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

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".