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A Danish man has been convicted of uploading nude segments from copyrighted films and TV series on the online site Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by media outlets, the anonymous man posted 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred jail term for violating copyright laws.

Experts say the man was charged under a seldom-invoked provision in Denmark's copyright law, with the judge ruling that by removing the footage out of their intended setting, the accused had harmed the performers' "moral rights".

He has also been found guilty of distributing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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

According to the Denmark's copyright protection group the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and participants were prompted to ask for clips of specific performers.

In 2023, advocates reported the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, filmmakers and producers, which led to the subreddit being closed down.

One actress, one of the performers whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to Danish broadcasters at the time she believed there was a difference between appearing naked in a movie and being shown on Reddit.

The performer stated the posts amounted to "exploitation".

'An important signal'

The man was arrested in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations recently.

In a statement after the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" message "that violations of creators' rights has consequences".

The ruling is viewed as unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an artist's creation cannot be used in a way which violates their reputation.

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

How the ruling could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of these actions" in the future with the growth of artificial intelligence, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be compromised much more easily".