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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's police state he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request clips of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, directors and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were circulated in the group, explained to Danish media at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" message "indicating violations of artists' rights have consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told the media the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".