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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of nude scenes 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 suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of particular actors.

In last year, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".