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A Denmark-based citizen has been found guilty of uploading sexually explicit scenes from protected movies and TV series on the social media platform Reddit.

According to a police report obtained by BBC News, the unnamed individual posted 347 video excerpts of explicit scenes in a Reddit group he moderated, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

Danish police confirm he has been handed a seven-month deferred sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts explain the defendant was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the accused had damaged the artists' "ethical entitlements".

He has additionally been convicted of sharing more than 25 terabytes of copyrighted digital content.

From spring 2022 to May 2023, the man using the alias "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.

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 encouraged to ask for excerpts of particular actors.

In last year, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, one of the performers whose nude content were shared in the community, explained to local broadcasters at the period she felt there was a distinction between being seen unclothed in a film and being shown on Reddit.

The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".

'A significant message'

The defendant was arrested in fall 2024 and pleaded culpable to the charges last month.

In a statement after the ruling, TRA head the organization's leader remarked the decision sent an "significant" signal "that violations of creators' rights has consequences".

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

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

How 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 growth of AI, where "the integrity of an individual's creative output might be tempered with with greater ease".