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A Danish man has been convicted of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a police document obtained by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for clips of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose nude content were shared in the group, told local broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between being seen naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts amounted to "abuse".

'A significant message'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations 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 artists' rights have consequences".

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

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".