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A Danish man has been found guilty of uploading nude scenes from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual posted 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's police state he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Danish 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 convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.

Per the Danish copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, among the performers whose explicit scenes were circulated in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the period she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unique in the country for its application of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar told the media the case was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".