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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from protected films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report obtained by media outlets, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been given a 7-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, advocates reported the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose explicit scenes were shared in the community, explained to local media at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of artists' entitlements have consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "ethical protections" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their standing.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the harm to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the case could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".