Downloading pirated content such as copyrighted movies or music is now illegal in the Netherlands, the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice announced on Thursday. reports.

Until now, downloading copyrighted material in the Netherlands was permitted for personal use, effectively allowing Dutch citizens to download pirated content freely. The announcement comes after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that a Dutch law that makes no distinction between personal copies made from legal sources and copies made from illegal ones "cannot be tolerated."

"The objective of proper support for the dissemination of culture may not be achieved by sacrificing strict protection of copyright or by tolerating illegal forms of distribution of counterfeited or pirated works," the court said in a press release.

Dutch citizens were allowed to download pirated content as long as it was to make copies of material they already owned (think of downloading The Dark Knight from The Pirate Bay to have a copy of the Blu-ray you purchased previously).

To compensate copyright holders, the Netherlands passed a law that, since January 2013, imposed a "piracy levy" on writeable media such as blank CDs and DVDs, hard drives and electronic devices with storage capacity. Importers of laptops, tablets, smartphones, and MP3 players have to pay a 5 EUR copyright levy to the Dutch Home Copying Foundation, and the price of a blank CD or DVD includes 3 cents for the levy, according to Dutch News.

The ECJ ruled that this system is unlawful, and even unfair, as it makes people who do not download illegal material pay for those who do.

"All users are indirectly penalised since they necessarily contribute towards the compensation payable for the harm caused by private reproductions made from an unlawful source," the court wrote. "Users consequently find themselves required to bear an additional, non-negligible cost in order to be able to make private copies."

Following this ruling, the country's Ministry of Security and Justice announced that downloading pirated material is now effectively illegal. But it also specified that the ban is based on civil law, so infringers will not be prosecuted and will not face criminal charges, as reported by PCWorld.

The Dutch anti-piracy foundation Brein announced on Thursday that it won't go after individual downloaders, but only sites and services that facilitate the access to illegal material.

The case reached the ECJ after several electronics stores and manufacturers sued the Home Copying Foundation, and the Dutch Supreme Court asked the ECJ for a ruling on the matter.

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