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A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from protected movies and TV series on the online platform Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document obtained by media outlets, the unnamed man posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were encouraged to request clips of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose nude content were shared in the community, told local media at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted culpable to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating violations of creators' rights have consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their standing.

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova told BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

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

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".