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A Danish man has been convicted of sharing nude segments from protected films and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities state he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the judge ruling that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

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

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, told local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights have consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in the country for its application of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

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

The extent to which the case could affect other countries 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 with greater ease".