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posted by takyon on Tuesday September 27 2016, @08:16PM   Printer-friendly
from the streaming-pile-of-justice dept.

Brian Thompson, a Middlesbrough trader, has been prosecuted for selling set-top boxes running Android that come pre-installed with the Kodi/XBMC open source media centre software.

A Middlesbrough trader is set to make legal history as the first person to be prosecuted for selling Android boxes. Following an 18-month investigation, Brian Thompson has been told Middlesbrough Council is taking him to court in what could prove a landmark case.

The council claims the boxes are illegal, but Brian said: "I am pleading not guilty and I'm going to fight this."

The kit - also known as a 'Kodi box' - allows viewers to watch copyright material like Premier League football and Hollywood movies for free. As such there are major question marks over both their legality, and exactly just what people can safely watch.

What seems to be at issue here is that some traders, perhaps Thompson, were selling these set-top boxes preloaded with third-party Kodi add-ons that permit access to media in violation of copyright law. More coverage at the BBC.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @08:50PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @08:50PM (#407089)

    You can install Kodi on just about everything and search Google for the 3rd party addons. The **AA might as well sue the entire Internet because it'll never stop.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Snotnose on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:09PM

    by Snotnose (1623) on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:09PM (#407122)

    You and I can install Kodi on pretty much anything and google for add-ins. Mom? notsomuch.

    That said, I never heard of Kodi before.

    --
    When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
    • (Score: 3, Informative) by urza9814 on Thursday September 29 2016, @01:07AM

      by urza9814 (3954) on Thursday September 29 2016, @01:07AM (#407686) Journal

      That said, I never heard of Kodi before.

      It's recently been rebranded; You might have known it as XBMC.

  • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Wednesday September 28 2016, @04:03AM

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 28 2016, @04:03AM (#407184)

    Give them time and they will.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by theluggage on Wednesday September 28 2016, @12:20PM

    by theluggage (1797) on Wednesday September 28 2016, @12:20PM (#407349)

    You can install Kodi on just about everything and search Google for the 3rd party addons.

    ...or you can use it to watch rips of your own DVDs (morally OK, arguably illegal, but unlikely to bother the **AA if you don't share them) or as a front-end to a PVR like MythTV or TVHeadEnd (time shifting was legal last time I looked). Also, there are such things as public domain, creative commons, copyleft or free-as-in-beer shows & movies (No, seriously, there's Star Wreck, and that Blender demo movie about a giant rabbit and, fan-made stuff that the original producers definitely may be cool with, and... er...)

    This guy is a jerk because he's publicly promoting Kodi as a way to watch pay TV streams for free and thus painting Kodi as a target for the **AA, for his own personal gain. He's getting the name Kodi entangled with serious/organised copyright infringement (as happened with Bittorrent).

    The BBC are also being irresponsible by using "Kodi" in their headlines.