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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by BBC News, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's police state he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the man was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, told local media at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges recently.

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "that infringements of artists' entitlements has repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova told the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".