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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, told Danish media at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

The man was detained in September 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges recently.

In a statement following the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".