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

Based on a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 clips of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then watched 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish authorities state he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for copyright infringement.

Legal analysts say the defendant was charged under a seldom-invoked clause in Denmark's copyright law, with the court ruling that by taking the scenes out of their intended setting, the man had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit posted adult clips including over 100 female performers.

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

Per the Denmark's anti-piracy group the Rights Alliance, his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to request excerpts of particular actors.

In 2023, campaigners filed the case to the police on behalf of the affected artists, filmmakers and producers, which resulted in the subreddit being shut down.

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

The actress stated the uploads amounted to "exploitation".

'A significant signal'

The defendant was detained in September 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.

In a comment following the verdict, the head of the Rights Alliance Maria Fredenslund remarked the outcome sent an "important" signal "indicating infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".

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

Intellectual property specialist a legal scholar informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an performer, rather than to them economically.

How the case could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, where "the sanctity of one's work might be compromised with greater ease".