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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to ask for clips of specific performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

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

In a statement after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" signal "that infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".