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

According to a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed individual shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

Danish police state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had damaged 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 man using the alias "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 actresses.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and producers, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to Danish media at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the posts constituted "abuse".

'An important signal'

The man was arrested in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the charges recently.

In a comment following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements have consequences".

The verdict is considered unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which states an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which violates their reputation.

Copyright law expert Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could influence other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with much more easily".