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A Denmark-based man has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit segments from protected films and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a police report obtained by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

Danish authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the man had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

In last year, campaigners filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content 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 appearing on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" signal "indicating infringements of creators' rights have consequences".

The ruling is considered unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an creator's work cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

The extent to which the case could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".