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A Denmark-based man has been convicted of sharing nude segments from protected films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the unnamed man shared 347 video excerpts of explicit content in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.

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

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

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

From March 2022 to mid-2023, the user known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips featuring over 100 actresses.

He shared them in the forum he was a administrator of.

Per the Danish copyright protection organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 members and users were prompted to request clips of specific performers.

In last year, advocates filed the case to the police on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being shut down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose explicit content were circulated in the group, told local broadcasters at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the uploads amounted to "abuse".

'A significant signal'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges last month.

In a comment following the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader said the outcome sent an "important" signal "indicating violations of artists' rights have repercussions".

The verdict is viewed as unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an creator's creation cannot be utilized in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed BBC News the case was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them financially.

How the case could affect nations abroad is unclear.

But she said there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".