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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the community, explained to local media at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of creators' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their standing.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the case could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".