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A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

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

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

Legal analysts say the man was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.

According to the Denmark's copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the group, told local media at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their standing.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".