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A Danish citizen has been convicted of uploading nude segments from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude content in a subreddit he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

Danish police state he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was charged under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request clips of particular actors.

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

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" signal "that infringements of artists' entitlements has consequences".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their standing.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the case could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".