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A Danish man has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish police state he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.

He distributed them in the forum he was a administrator of.

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

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were shared in the group, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

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

In a comment after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "that violations of creators' rights has repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique 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 manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could influence other countries is unclear.

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