Dutch anti-piracy advocate BREIN identified the operator of the cyberlocker discoverthisplace, which was used to distribute copyrighted content illegally, as well as two individuals who uploaded thousands of copyrighted video, music and books to it. BREIN made a request to Dutch courts to order the cessation of the cyberlocker’s operation.
The three had uploaded about 38,000 audiovisual files, 3,300 music files, and more than 20,000 writings to the cyberlocker. A fine of €2000 per day with a €50,000 maximum was established, although a settlement of 20,000 was reached and the cyberlocker was shut down.
Read BREIN’s announcement (Auto-translated from Dutch by Google Translate)
Read the court order (which contains a link to PDF of the BREIN request, in Dutch)
Why it matters
This case was a collaboration between rights holders and Dutch courts. There was no mention of assistance by law enforcement at a local, national, EU, or international level.
The case adds to several other successes during 2021, to date; including settlements in March against several individuals who were uploading copyrighted content to Usenet groups and in another case announced in March, a Dutch individual who claimed to be Belgian, and was distributing illegal streaming services over Web portals in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Those illegal services gave access to more than 6,000 TV channels and 10,000 video programs.
BREIN (Dutch for ‘Brain’) is an organization whose affiliates include the Motion Picture Association and several dozen organizations, including platform providers, intellectual property advocates, numerous Dutch media companies, the Dutch Association of Cinemas Films and Theatres, and Netflix.
