Sky claims victory over Christchurch’s Fibre TV
A landmark court ruling makes it clear that Kiwis are breaking the law by using ‘‘preloaded Kodi’’ boxes to watch live sports and other pay-television programming for free, Sky Television says. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are believed to have bought the devices, which sell for upwards of $70. Sky spokeswoman Melodie Robinson said the company did not intend to bring prosecutions against people using the devices, as it didn’t want to be ‘‘the big guys going after the little people’’. Sky last year sued two distributors of the devices, Christchurch’s Fibre TV and Hamilton’s MyBox. The Christchurch District Court has now ruled in favour of Sky in the Fibre TV case, saying the firm was breaking the Copyright Act by selling Kodi boxes with pre-installed add-ons that enabled access to copyright content. Sky obtained an injunction preventing Fibre TV from claiming the devices were legal, and an order for damages.