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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request clips of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

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

In a comment after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the case could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".