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A Danish man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected films and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a police document obtained by media outlets, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

Legal analysts say the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request excerpts of particular actors.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, told Danish media at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of creators' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could influence other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be compromised much more easily".