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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted movies and TV series on the online site Reddit.

Based on a police document obtained by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police state he has been handed a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes featuring over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit scenes were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.

In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating violations of creators' entitlements has repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their standing.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be compromised with greater ease".