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A Danish citizen has been convicted of sharing nude segments from copyrighted movies and television shows on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement document reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of nude content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts explain the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's intellectual property legislation, with the court finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult clips including over 100 actresses.

He distributed 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 prompted to request excerpts of particular actors.

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit scenes were circulated in the group, told local broadcasters at the time she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "abuse".

'An important message'

The man was detained in September 2024 and pleaded guilty to the allegations recently.

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the outcome sent an "important" signal "that violations of creators' rights has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" section of the national copyright law, which states an artist's creation cannot be used in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

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

How the ruling could affect other countries is unclear.

But she added there may be "more and more of these actions" in the coming years with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".