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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading nude segments from protected films and television shows on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police document obtained by media outlets, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

Danish police confirm he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told local media at the time she felt there was a distinction between appearing unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

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

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" message "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 Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could affect other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".