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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document obtained by media outlets, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

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

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

According to the Danish anti-piracy group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 members and participants were encouraged to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the case to the authorities on behalf of the affected artists, directors and production companies, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were shared in the community, told Danish broadcasters at the period she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

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

In a comment after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" message "that violations of artists' rights have consequences".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which states an creator's work cannot be utilized in a way which violates their standing.

Copyright law specialist a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

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