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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police state he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific actors.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude scenes were shared in the group, explained to local media at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights has consequences".

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

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

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

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".