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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous individual shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for clips of particular performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that infringements of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be tempered with with greater ease".