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A Danish man has been convicted of uploading sexually explicit segments from protected films and TV series on the social media site Reddit.

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed man posted 347 video excerpts of nude content in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been handed a 7-month suspended jail term for violating copyright laws.

Legal analysts say the man was prosecuted under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the man had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has also been convicted of distributing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

Per 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 specific performers.

In 2023, advocates filed the incident to the police on behalf of the affected artists, directors and producers, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

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

The performer stated the uploads constituted "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges 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 violations of artists' rights has consequences".

The verdict is considered unprecedented in the country for its application of the "ethical protections" section of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's work cannot be utilized in a manner which infringes upon their reputation.

Copyright law expert a legal scholar informed BBC News the case was "unusual" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the case could affect other countries is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".