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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police state he has been given a 7-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".