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A Danish man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of explicit scenes 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 violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge finding that by taking the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request excerpts of specific actors.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, among the performers whose nude scenes were shared in the group, explained to local media at the period she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of creators' rights has repercussions".

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

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the case was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

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 growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised much more easily".