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A Danish man has been found guilty of sharing sexually explicit segments from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement document reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a Reddit group he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been given a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used clause in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the scenes out of their original context, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

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

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

Per the Danish copyright protection organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, filmmakers and production companies, which led to the subreddit being shut down.

One actress, among the actresses whose nude content were shared in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important signal'

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

In a comment following the ruling, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" message "that violations of creators' entitlements has repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in the country for its use of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a manner which violates their standing.

Copyright law specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the legal matter was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the dignity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with much more easily".