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

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been handed a 7-month suspended sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.

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

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

In last year, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told local media at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The man was detained in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "that infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

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

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".