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A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous individual shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a seven-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the man was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 female performers.

He shared them in the forum 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 participants were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit scenes were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

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

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "significant" signal "that violations of creators' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which states an creator's creation cannot be used in a manner which violates their reputation.

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

How the ruling could influence other countries is uncertain.

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