Yes you heard me right.  A Dutch Copyright Group has sent a letter to the Dutch Government asking for 1.2 Billion euros to compensate them for damages they feel they incurred due to the loose piracy laws that were previously held in the country.  The group stated the following: “The Dutch State has maintained for years that copying from illegal sources was allowed. The result was that an entire generation of consumers believes that downloading without paying for it is simply allowed,”

The funny thing is that they go on to claim that the amount will actually be much higher than what they are demanding here. “And to think that this amount relates only to the immediate apparent damage. The actual loss is expected to be even higher” In 2014 the European Court of Justice stepped in an forced the Dutch to add some anti-piracy laws to help offset the “rampant” piracy from the region, but it really has not done much to stop the flow of content to and from individuals.

The Dutch government has 30 days to respond to the absurd letter or the copyright group will pursue legal means to get what they want. Personally I am at a loss for words on this one and think that there should be absolutely no legal standing for it to even enter a court. To demand that type of money from a governmental body by what amounts to a cartel of corporations is nothing short of extortion. They want to force the government to bend to their will and help prop up their business model. I wonder what would happen if the government revoked their charter to do business or forced them to pay the corporate taxes that they should pay… It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.