What is illegal downloading?
Although the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Spotify is reducing the incidence of illegal downloading, 1 in 3 Belgians still say they sometimes download a movie or music without paying for it.
Is illegal downloading punishable?
Illegally downloading movies, music or computer games is a violation of copyright law and this is enforced within civil law. This means that the owner of copyrighted material can seek damages from the person who illegally downloaded the product. So this goes through civil law and has nothing to do with criminal law.
In fact, something is only criminal when there is a prohibition in the criminal code. Downloading music or movies illegally does not fall under theft (after all, you are making a copy instead of taking away the material). Furthermore, the penal code does not contain any articles criminalizing illegal movie or music downloading. Therefore, in Belgium you cannot criminal be prosecuted for illegally downloading music or a movie.
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