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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

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

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

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

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

Per the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request clips of specific actors.

In last year, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude content were circulated in the community, told Danish media at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

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

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of artists' entitlements has repercussions".

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

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the case could influence other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised much more easily".