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A Danish citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of explicit scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police state he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a rarely-used clause in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of protected data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips featuring over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit 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 affected artists, directors and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the community, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important message'

The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the allegations recently.

In a statement after the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of artists' rights has repercussions".

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

Intellectual property expert Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the case was "unusual" for its focus on the damage to the dignity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".