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A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted movies and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by media outlets, the anonymous man shared 347 clips of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police state he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Danish copyright law, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their intended setting, the accused had damaged the performers' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of protected digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit scenes including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization The Rights Alliance (TRA), his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request excerpts of specific actors.

In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and production companies, which led to the forum being closed down.

One actress, one of the actresses whose explicit content were circulated in the community, told Danish media at the period she believed there was a distinction between being seen naked in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The actress said the uploads constituted "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a statement after the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance the organization's leader said the decision sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of creators' entitlements have repercussions".

The ruling is considered unprecedented in the country for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the Danish Copyright Act, which states an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar informed BBC News the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the harm to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them financially.

How the ruling could influence nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of an individual's work might be compromised with greater ease".