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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading nude segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police state he has been handed a seven-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were shared in the group, told local media at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements have consequences".

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

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told the media 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 affect other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".