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A Danish citizen has been convicted of sharing nude segments from protected movies and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

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

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

He shared them in the forum he was a moderator 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 particular performers.

In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, explained to local broadcasters at the period she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence nations abroad is unclear.

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