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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's police state he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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 "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were shared in the community, told local media at the time she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

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

How the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".