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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from protected movies and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

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

One actress, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, told Danish media at the period she believed there was a difference between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its application of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".