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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from protected movies and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous individual shared 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to request excerpts of particular actors.

In last year, campaigners filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, explained to local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant message'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment after the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of artists' entitlements has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique 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 way which violates their reputation.

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

The extent to which the case could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's work might be tempered with much more easily".