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A Danish citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of particular performers.

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

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" 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 such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".