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A Denmark-based man has been convicted of uploading nude segments from protected films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes including 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, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the posts amounted to "abuse".

'An important message'

The man was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an creator's work cannot be used in a manner 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 integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with much more easily".