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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from protected films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

According to a police document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of explicit content 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 suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

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

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular actors.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

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

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an creator's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".