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

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 clips of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

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

Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, explained to local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

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

Copyright law expert a legal scholar informed the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".