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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected films and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

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

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

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "that infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter 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 uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".