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A Danish citizen has been convicted of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

Legal analysts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

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

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers 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.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a statement following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their standing.

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

How the case could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".