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A Danish man has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's police confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

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

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were circulated in the community, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar informed the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

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