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

According to a police report obtained by media outlets, the anonymous 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 handed a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

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

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

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

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar informed BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the case could affect other countries is unclear.

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