Dutch film producers and distributors threaten to sue the Dutch government for € 1.2 billion ($1.33 billion) because they lost income due to poor enforcement of the copyright laws in the Netherlands. The film producers and distributors are united in a group called "Vereniging van Speelfilm Ondernemers" (VSO).
They've given the Dutch government a deadline till the 19th of February. Before that date the government has time to acknowledge responsibility and to begin talks on the amount of damages that need to be paid. If the deadline isn't met, the VSO will start a lawsuit.
"The Dutch government has maintained for year that it was allowed to download from illegal sources. The result is that an entire generation thinks that viewing movies without paying is allowed", according to the group of movie professionals.
Illegal downloading was tolerated in the Netherlands and content producers were compensated by a levy that was added to the price of devices that could be used to playback music and movies. In April 2014 the Dutch government was corrected by the European Court of Justice. Since then the downloading is officially illegal in the county.
However according to the VSO the Dutch government isn't properly enforcing the law.
