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A Danish man has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

Based on a police report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month deferred sentence for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "moral rights".

He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted digital content.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult scenes including over 100 actresses.

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

According to the Danish copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were prompted to ask for clips of specific actors.

In 2023, advocates filed the case to the authorities on behalf of the impacted artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the community, explained to Danish media at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen naked in a film and appearing on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "significant" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "ethical protections" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

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

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is uncertain.

But she added there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's creative output might be compromised with greater ease".