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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been given a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's copyright protection group 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 filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude content were circulated in the group, told local media at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

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

In a statement following the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "that infringements of artists' entitlements have consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".