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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities state he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local media at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

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

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of artists' rights have consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

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

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".