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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were encouraged to request clips of specific actors.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, told local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the case could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".