The movie industry in the Netherlands claims that the local government is liable for the high piracy rates in the country, accusing it of tolerating and even encouraging illegal downloading for years. This is why a coalition of movie companies now sues the government demanding for damages they have suffered over the past 10 years, totaling $1.34 billion.

Indeed, pirating video content is very popular in the country: up to 1/3 of the population is known to illegally download and stream copyrighted content. This popularity is actually not surprising because the country has traditionally been a safe haven for pirates: according to local laws, downloading video content without permission was not punishable. This was true until the European Court of Justice spoke out against the tolerant stance a couple years ago. After this, the Dutch authorities quickly outlawed illegal downloading, but it was clear that breaking the habits of a large part of the population would take much more time and effort.

As a result, moviemakers and distributors now want to hold the government responsible and demand compensation for the piracy losses. They sent a letter to Secretary of State for Justice, claiming $1.34 billion to compensate for damages suffered within the past decade. The movie industry explained that the Dutch state had maintained for years that illegal downloading had not been punishable, which resulted in an entire generation of consumers believing that piracy is simply allowed. This was why the companies want the Dutch government to take responsibility for its unlawful legislation and the resulting damage.

The amount of losses suffered based on research, which estimated the losses at 78 million euros annually, but the movie industry claims that actual damage is expected to be even higher, as recent figures reveal that the revenue from video-on-demand have dropped off significantly in the last two years, compared to previous period.

The movie companies suggest using the damages for anti-piracy campaigns and stronger enforcement against pirates. The experts explain that the local government has a few weeks to respond to the letter or else the movie industry will take further legal steps.
Thanks to TorrentFreak for providing the source of the article.