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A Denmark-based man has been convicted of sharing nude segments from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a police document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual shared 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the man was charged under a seldom-invoked 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' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the community, told Danish media at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.

In a statement after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements has consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which violates their standing.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the case could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".