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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's police state he has been handed a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the footage out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected data.

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

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to ask for excerpts of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude content were shared in the group, told Danish media at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations recently.

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the decision sent an "important" signal "that violations of artists' entitlements have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which violates their reputation.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar told the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could influence other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be compromised much more easily".