Don’t risk paying a very high price for ‘free’ TV
COURT RULING SAYS THAT MODIFIED KODI SOFTWARE IS ILLEGAL
IF you have got a Kodi TV set-top box – especially if it’s ‘fully loaded’ – you’ll no doubt have been closely watching a certain court case taking place in the north east.
Brian Thompson had been selling ‘fully loaded’ Kodi boxes in his shop Cut Price Tomo’s TV store in Middlesbrough.
The boxes – or rather the Kodi software loaded onto them – are designed to allow you to watch freely available video from the internet. But they can be modified with software that allows you to watch subscription channels – like football and films – without paying.
Thompson, of Barnaby Avenue, Middlesbrough, admitted one count of selling and one count of advertising devices “designed, produced or adapted for the purpose of enabling or facilitating the circumvention of effective technological measures”.
He had been planning to plead not guilty and force a test case, claiming the the law on the boxes was a “grey area” and he wanted to know if he was doing “anything illegal”.
He changed his plea at the last minute, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He had sold 400 boxes, worth around £40,000.
Judge Peter Armstrong said the legality of the ‘fully loaded’ boxes was in no doubt. “Those who lawfully have to pay £50 a month or more on Sky or BT subscriptions, are done a disservice by people like you and those who buy these devices,” he said.
What does it mean for you if you have one of those boxes? Should you be worried? The short answer is ‘yes’. WHAT IS A KODI BOX?
IT’S not a box as such – the name comes from the software installed on it. Kodi is actually quite cool and useful media streaming software. It can come installed on many different kinds of HDMI plug-in devices. The software is a simple interface that allows you to stream video over the internet – it can be installed on other devices, like laptops or even mobile phones. ARE THEY ILLEGAL?
NO – a Kodi box that streams freely available content via the internet is perfectly legal, and the intended use of the software. What is illegal – to sell, buy, and use – is a box that has Kodi software installed to allow the streaming of content that would normally require a paid subscription, such as Sky Sports or Sky Cinema. SHOULD I BUY ONE?
ONLY if it’s not ‘fully loaded’. If it is you’ll be breaking the law. Of course, you’ll find a box with unmodified Kodi software on it a lot less useful (but a whole lot safer) than one that has h been ‘fully loaded’. In any a case, many of the services se providing pirated and an illegal content are being shut shu down as the law catches up with w them. AM I BRE BREAKING THE LAW IF I USE ONE? ON IF you’re watching subscription TV in your home without paying for it, you are breaking the law.
And you should be aware that content providers like Sky and BT Sport are getting ever-more aggressive in chasing down those who are streaming content illegally. After all, they don’t shell out billions for the rights to show the content on their paid channels for no reason.
Something Mr Thompson in Middlesbrough has found out to his cost.