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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes 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 copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request clips of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between appearing naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges recently.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of artists' rights have repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with with greater ease".