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A Danish citizen has been convicted of uploading nude segments from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

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

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected data.

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

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were circulated in the group, told Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges recently.

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' entitlements has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could influence other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be tempered with much more easily".