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

According to a police report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of explicit scenes 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 suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

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

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

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

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

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

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of artists' entitlements has repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the case could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".