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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

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