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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading nude segments from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used 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' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to Danish media at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the posts amounted to "abuse".

'An important message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of creators' entitlements has consequences".

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

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".