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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

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

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

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

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request clips of specific actors.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

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

The actress stated the posts amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

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

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" message "that infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their standing.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".