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posted by martyb on Thursday March 08 2018, @05:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the push-comes-to-shove dept.

According to TorrentFreak (TF) entertainment coalitions such as the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) are continuing to threaten developers of Kodi addons:

The MPA, Netflix, Amazon, and dozens of other content companies are ramping up the pressure on a third-party Kodi addon developer. Last year, JSergio123 was warned by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment to cease his activities and sign a confidential settlement agreement. He did not and now he's coming under pressure to comply. But what are ACE's demands?

[...] JSergio123's reluctance to sign an agreement with ACE hasn't gone unnoticed by the anti-piracy group. In a letter dated March 5, 2018 and signed by Kelly Klaus of US-based lawfirm Munger, Tolles & Olson, the developer is reminded of what transpired last year and what is expected of him moving forward.

"I understand that ACE counsel have discussed with you various of your "Addon" software applications and related software and services, including URLResolver (collectively, the "[redacted] Addons") and other actions you have undertaken to induce and contribute to the mass infringement of the ACE members' copyrighted works," Klaus writes. "I also understand that ACE counsel have provided you with a proposed settlement agreement, pursuant to which you would end your infringing activities and provide cooperation and other consideration in exchange for ACE agreeing not to pursue legal action against you arising out of your infringing activities. To date, you have not signed the settlement agreement."

JSergio123's precise reasons for not signing the settlement agreement aren't being made public. However, TorrentFreak understands that some of the terms presented to addon developers last year have caused considerable concern. In some cases they are difficult to meet, not to mention unpalatable to the people involved. They include promises to ensure that specified addons and indeed any developed in the future can no longer infringe copyright. For those that scrape third-party sources, this could prove impossible to absolutely guarantee. This could effectively put developers out of the addon game – legitimate or otherwise – for good. TF is also informed that ACE demanded a high-level of cooperation, including that the developers should supply what amounts to a full confession, detailing all the projects they've been involved in, past and present.

Meanwhile, Dish Network is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against TVAddons and ZemTV.

Related: MPAA Chief Focuses Attention on the Kodi Platform
Kodi Panic in the UK and Popularity in North America
Kodi Add-on Library "TVAddons" Disappears After Lawsuit
Hollywood Strikes Back Against Illegal Streaming Kodi Add-Ons
Kodi Returns to its Roots With an Xbox One Release
Two New Lawsuits Against Makers of "Pirate Streaming Devices"


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:29PM (1 child)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 08 2018, @06:29PM (#649608) Journal

    These people know no bounds. Remember SOPA. They had congress bought and paid for -- until major web sites went dark and informed the public what was happening. Then, suddenly all congress critters were distancing themselves from SOPA. Most of the public had never heard of SOPA.

    Then, based on timing, I think right after SOPA died, these people raided Kim Dot Com over MegaUpload. Private American companies getting foreign law enforcement to act in an outrageous way, without due process. Destroying his business. No compensation. I don't know if he ever got his servers and property back. Eventually NZ said it was all a mistake (or something like that). It went nowhere in the US. (I'm going from memory, so corrections are welcome.)

    These people think it is everyone else's job to police their intellectual property. When they, themselves are unable to determine what is and is not an infringement, how to they expect other people to do so? (Example: they take down videos their own marketing arm uploaded as promotional material. They claim someone's nature recording of birds chirping infringes their music.)

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08 2018, @11:38PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 08 2018, @11:38PM (#649773)

    Nope. Kim Dotcom stoty is still not over yet. Some people really do not feel like admitting their mistakes. Besides, US got his assets, what's not to like?

    https://torrentfreak.com/tag/kim-dotcom/ [torrentfreak.com]