Two Sentenced to Jail for Selling Kodi Devices

While I generally don’t think piracy affects overall sales, I do believe these devices have reached critical mass where it is an issue. The hardware + software is super cheap and easy enough now so any idiot can figure it out. My cousin figuring this stuff out was a wake up call. If you asked them to go download Avengers from the internet, they would end up with a PC full of viruses. Yet they ended up with a Fire TV stick loaded with Kodi and plugins to watch damn near anything somehow.

Word gets around and some people are so stupid they don’t even realize these things are stealing, they just think they bought a Wonder Device. These things were all over Ebay and Craigslist a while ago (likely still are), with sellers pocketing $20+ just for copying on some software. It’s gotten to the point where it’s just too easy.
 
There was a Dragon Box being sold here out of some dudes house. It was essentially a Pi board with kodi and advertised as “TV/Movies for FREE!.”

I mean, c’mon? $100 for a $30 device that was pre loaded for pirated content? Seems legit...

These things definitely rail roared Kodi. I still use Kodi but i stay away from the pirated stuff which is everywhere...
 
Meeho said:
How about stores that sell knives, baseball bats, computer mice and keyboards, power outlets...?
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There is no multi billion dollar industry that stands to gain anything from that.
 
tetris42 said:
I like how we jumped from piracy to pipe bombs.
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I like how you seem to have completely missed my point. Giving you all the parts to build something and then instructions on how to put them together in a way to do something bad doesn't mean that the seller is innocent of trying to sell you the finished product as that was the intent from the start. Any real example of that which would make sense is going to be something of a magnitude worse for it to be something that makes any sense showing that. Pipe bomb or any other type of explosive device. various chemicals that when mixed in exact ratios do something bad, guess a potato gun wouldn't have been that terrible of an example since it is illegal in some areas to own them.

Still the point is if I give you all the exact parts that you need with very clear instructions on how to do something with them to create a final product that is illegal that is only a little below actually selling you the illegal item itself put together. My intent is to try to use a loophole to sell you an illegal product and you are buying an illegal product.
 
Makaveli@BETA said:
A agree it is bad for the Legit Kodi community but I look at it and knives kill people should be ban those too?

With access to so much information on the internet if people are buying these and aren't aware you kinda of deserve it.
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They have banned knives... So yea, it doesn't seem out of character for them to ban software if that software has a chance of being used to do something illegal.
 
Rob94hawk said:
Don't know what this thing even is.
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Are you familiar with Kodi? If not, it is at www.kodi.tv .

Previously known as XBMC (given its roots on the original Xbox way way back), Kodi is an open source media player/manager with a UI optimized for TV/media center use. It is a top quality convergence utility, allowing users to configure to their preference and watch all matters of content from locally hosted media, to those on LAN resources like a NAS with SAMBA or NFS shares, to even streaming sites and services like Netflix, all from within the same program! There are three major elements that make it the dominant software in the front-end media playing/managing arena. First, it is open source. Thanks to this it has healthful development and runs on damn near everything from a Raspberry Pi to a full power PC, while forks and rebrands of varying quality are included by those selling hardware such as low powered ARM media boxes. Next, it was one of the first open source media centers made to run on lower-powered hardware and designed for large-screen TV applications, with a a UI (skinnable) optimized for remote controls and game controllers and further enhanced over the years. Finally, it is simply exceptionally powerful and well made, amassing tons of integrated feature over the years, but perhaps most importantly being extensible; it has an add-on framework that provide nearly limitless features with the ability to add repositories to download and update add-ons at will. The Kodi team maintains an "official' add-on repository that is enabled by default and contains hundreds of addons, all curated via the Kodi team to be high quality, functional, and legally at very least in the gray area. However, as users can add their own repositories there are those with addons dedicated to pirated streaming sites and other ripped content.

This is at the crux of the issue. Kodi in and of itself doesn't include any infringing content, but users can add what they wish. Kodi gets a lot of hate from the media cartels for this reason so they're always trying to jump on the software itself , add-ons, and developers whenever given the chance. If it is end-users putting pirated content on their Kodi players that's one thing, but when hardware/software is sold loaded with infringing content that's like dropping blood in the water. Kodi is prominent on the aforementioned low-powered ARM SOC "media boxes" . Mostly of Chinese manufacture, you can see a TON of these on Amazon. They are usually running on some version of Android and nearly all include Kodi; some of the better ones are granted the right to use the Kodi trademark itself but those who don't simply knock together a fork with a different name like "Qiwoo Media Player" or something. Most "white and grey market" boxes like this come "empty" with basic software ready for users to load on and/or configure their own media collection. However, there are also "black market" types who advertise "fully loaded Kodi" boxes, sometimes actually citing stuff like "Watch Netflix, HBO, 10,000 movies, series, and more for FREE!" . These come with pirate repositories with unofficial streaming sites enabled. It is this sort of "black market" box being sold that landed its developers in legal trouble, as discussed in the story.

Regarding the case itself I agree that the two individuals in question are in the wrong as even by "the pirate's code", selling bootlegs/profiting from piracy is frowned upon (with a few exceptions, especially in the developing world but usually only then with very low prices - more paying for the time for someone to collect the media than the media itself). However, the charges themselves seem rather shaky and there's some question about exactly how much content was pre-loaded or ready, since the defendants had legit tax and finance/business licenses. The sentences are really obscene though as there's no reason there should be jail time at all for a non-violent offender like this, nor "scarlet letter" style setups where he can't sell anything online for 5 years and has to make all of his online history/actions/usernames etc... available to police whenever they feel like it. At maximum I think an immediate cease&desist, a reasonable fine calculated from current profits and resources of the company the 2 men formed, and perhaps a small amount of community service would be more than enough. I don't know too much about the inner workings of the UK legal system but if its anything like the US this whole thing sounds a lot like they were threatened with the kind of absolutely crippling charges that entertainment industry loves like hundreds of thousands of dollars per box sold and some grand racketeering empire, so they were scared into accepting a plea bargain with still-obscene conditions. Sad and frustrating if it happens on that side of the pond as well, but it seems like the UK has gotten increasingly authoritarian, isolated, and draconian as well,
 
ScottSummers79 said:
They have banned knives... So yea, it doesn't seem out of character for them to ban software if that software has a chance of being used to do something illegal.
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What is being missed is that these two didn't get in trouble for selling a Kodi media player. Even then the title is worded that way, they were selling a media player to watch pirates material that just happen to use Kodi at its base. This device was sold soley for the purpose of pirating movies and shows.
 
I'm not a burger so have no idea about these things.
In past it would take real effort to steal what you guys call 'kay-baal'. This seems like it's practically wide open streaming if you have a copy of the software/pirated hardware? Wtf...
 
Exavior said:
What is being missed is that these two didn't get in trouble for selling a Kodi media player. Even then the title is worded that way, they were selling a media player to watch pirates material that just happen to use Kodi at its base. This device was sold soley for the purpose of pirating movies and shows.
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If it didn't come preloaded with media, there should be no offence.
 
Exavior said:
Still the point is if I give you all the exact parts that you need with very clear instructions on how to do something with them to create a final product that is illegal that is only a little below actually selling you the illegal item itself put together. My intent is to try to use a loophole to sell you an illegal product and you are buying an illegal product.
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Selling a car is fine, but if I upgrade the suspension and say it's a great robbery getaway car in the ad, it's suddenly a criminal offense punishable with prison time? I can even draw routes to and from the nearest bank and put it on a note.
 
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Meeho said:
Selling a car is fine, but if I upgrade the suspension and say it's a great robbery getaway car in the ad, it's suddenly a criminal offense punishable with prison time? I can even draw routes to and from the nearest bank and put it on a note.
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It seems to me this is a mere academic exercise. It is clear what the usual use is for these products. Is it not?
 
It sucks that KODI was drug into this and it screwed their name up. I like their UI it is clean and responsive. I have used it but never bothered with downloading the plugin for 'free' content. I think they offer a great product but because we as a society can't see who the problem is. Now if you say you use kodi, people just assume you are streaming content you arent supposed to.
 
Yep, we're back to the age old argument. People kill people. People pirate media. The device itself is irrelevant until the person picks it up and uses / abuses / misuses it.
 
Meeho said:
You can rape 1500 girls, but watching unsafe porn on your Kodi while spreading lube on yourself with a butter knife deserves a death sentence.
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It isn't porn. It's violating Disney's or other company's government distorted copyright.
 
Meeho said:
Selling a car is fine, but if I upgrade the suspension and say it's a great robbery getaway car in the ad, it's suddenly a criminal offense punishable with prison time? I can even draw routes to and from the nearest bank and put it on a note.
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Like I have said above intent is the key. Let’s use your car example. Let’s take something illegal to do to a car and then sell it. If I sell you the car, parts and the instructions on how to make the change is that in the eyes of the law different than me doing it for you? Kind of like how when buying drugs one person just takes your money. He didn’t sell you anything. Another just gave you drugs so yes he is guilty of possession but not selling as he never got any money from you. Those are loop holes. In this case the loop hole wasn’t big enough for them both to fit through and they got stuck.
 
Stanley Pain said:
Yeah mate, fucking heads are rolling in the streets 24/7. It's a blood bath. :woot::bucktooth::rolleyes:

Also the TOTAL population of Muslims in the UK is in the millions (~3m), not millions of being let in you fuckwit.
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Do you have a licence for that offensive comment?
 
Exavior said:
Like I have said above intent is the key. Let’s use your car example. Let’s take something illegal to do to a car and then sell it. If I sell you the car, parts and the instructions on how to make the change is that in the eyes of the law different than me doing it for you? Kind of like how when buying drugs one person just takes your money. He didn’t sell you anything. Another just gave you drugs so yes he is guilty of possession but not selling as he never got any money from you. Those are loop holes. In this case the loop hole wasn’t big enough for them both to fit through and they got stuck.
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Since when are links to links to media files illegal?
 
Stanley Pain said:
Yeah mate, fucking heads are rolling in the streets 24/7. It's a blood bath. :woot::bucktooth::rolleyes:

Also the TOTAL population of Muslims in the UK is in the millions (~3m), not millions of being let in you fuckwit.
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It will be funny when they are at full sharia law.
 
Hagrid said:
It will be funny when they are at full sharia law.
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Oh that's a new one, from like 3 decades ago. :meh:

Want to explain how less than 5% of a population could pull that off? I'm taking your comment seriously at face value so I want a serious answer here.
 
Stanley Pain said:
Oh that's a new one, from like 3 decades ago. :meh:

Want to explain how less than 5% of a population could pull that off? I'm taking your comment seriously at face value so I want a serious answer here.
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It is called a small breeze that will turn into a storm. It is set in motion. Grab popcorn and watch!
 
Stanley Pain said:
Oh that's a new one, from like 3 decades ago. :meh:

Want to explain how less than 5% of a population could pull that off? I'm taking your comment seriously at face value so I want a serious answer here.
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Yeah, as if there could be some protected minority in the UK that could be raping thousands of girls for years while politicians and the police know and do nothing to stop it and everything to keep it going. Like anyone could pull that off in the UK, pfff, people are silly.
 
Stanley Pain said:
Oh that's a new one, from like 3 decades ago. :meh:

Want to explain how less than 5% of a population could pull that off? I'm taking your comment seriously at face value so I want a serious answer here.
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I'd like to respond with a sincere concern. I'm not condemning any one group, but there are certainly pockets of society that operate with their own rules - more or less. It's not dissimilar from federalism, which I support. However, I would suggest that sometimes the cultural norms imposed in those unassimilated communities can be inconsistent with the values / societal expectations of the larger majority population.

In principle, many people may be tempted to say, "Let them keep their practices." Until it's something not only inconsistent but also in opposition to the majority rule.

I'm not sure if your intent is to flame, but it appeared you were interested in any concerns - and that would be mine.
 
Meeho said:
Yeah, as if there could be some protected minority in the UK that could be raping thousands of girls for years while politicians and the police know and do nothing to stop it and everything to keep it going. Like anyone could pull that off in the UK, pfff, people are silly.
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Are you really this daft?

I mean even a cursory glance at the stats should enlighten you.

Yes, sexual assault is up YoY, mainly due to the fact that previous years the stats were under-reported making 2016/2017 have a roughly 20% jump. Normalizing the data leads to and I quote:

"There has been no significant change in the prevalence of sexual assault measured by the CSEW between the year ending March 2005 (2.6%) and the year ending March 2017 (2.0%) surveys."

and

"The increase in sexual offences recorded by the police is thought to be driven by improvements in recording practices and a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes, including non-recent victims."

Over 80% of sexual assault is perpetrated by someone the person knows (Ex-Partner, or Family member). Less than 5% is from a stranger. So no, there aren't a bunch of browns running around raping all the white women or whatever rhetoric you want to believe.

Violent crime is up a fair bit (23% or so). Can't find anything about reporting changes so I'll assume that's "really fucking bad". Don't go to the UK if you don't want to be stabbed I guess.
 
Joust said:
I'd like to respond with a sincere concern. I'm not condemning any one group, but there are certainly pockets of society that operate with their own rules - more or less. It's not dissimilar from federalism, which I support. However, I would suggest that sometimes the cultural norms imposed in those unassimilated communities can be inconsistent with the values / societal expectations of the larger majority population.

In principle, many people may be tempted to say, "Let them keep their practices." Until it's something not only inconsistent but also in opposition to the majority rule.

I'm not sure if your intent is to flame, but it appeared you were interested in any concerns - and that would be mine.
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Phrasing and word choice matters here. Your concern of how someone of potentially different cultural values assimilates into another culture is valid. What is not valid is saying that a bunch of Muslims are the reason why women are being raped or how there's going to be Sharia Law enacted because magically 5% of a population will gain >50% of the power or some such.
 
Stanley Pain said:
Phrasing and word choice matters here. Your concern of how someone of potentially different cultural values assimilates into another culture is valid. What is not valid is saying that a bunch of Muslims are the reason why women are being raped or how there's going to be Sharia Law enacted because magically 5% of a population will gain >50% of the power or some such.
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https://hardforum.com/threads/so-eu...migration-working-out-for-you.1887451/page-22

They can make arrests for a Kodi box, meme's, but what about the real crimes? I don't live there so I do not care but its getting stupid.
 
It's not the Kodi boxes themselves which are the problem. You can legally sell those all day long.

It's the streaming piracy plugins that are the problem.
 
Hagrid said:
https://hardforum.com/threads/so-eu...migration-working-out-for-you.1887451/page-22

They can make arrests for a Kodi box, meme's, but what about the real crimes? I don't live there so I do not care but its getting stupid.
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Yeah it's exactly like that. We can only police ONE thing at a time. The gig's up Kodi Box dudes. It's free reign for murderers and rapists now. Still safe to ignore you I guess ;)

You do know that police (in any first world country really) can and actually do police multiple things at the same time right? Kind of like how a software company might work on multiple products at the same time, or produce multiple lines of vehicles or......

Also that link takes me nowhere.
 
Hagrid said:
https://hardforum.com/threads/so-eu...migration-working-out-for-you.1887451/page-22

They can make arrests for a Kodi box, meme's, but what about the real crimes? I don't live there so I do not care but its getting stupid.
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Jeez, whatever happened to the eye-roll emoji...

People need to stop quoting that story as evidence of an immigration problem.

Overall rate of rape in Germany is DOWN since the immigration crisis started. There were two high profile rape cases that made the news media. One of them didn't even happen. Der Spiegel (highly respected German journalism magazine) looked into these claims and found all kinds of problems with the accusations.

This happens every single time there is a minority group that is disliked by a majority group. Isolated incidents are taken out of context and used to condemn the group as a whole. The right in our country does it with Hispanic immigrants all the time, despite crime rates among illegal immigrants being objectively significantly lower than U.S. citizens. But we are still talking about that one homeless guy in California who shot a woman by the beach, and are using it to try to tain and entire group of people.

in the 1930's the Germans did this with the Jews too. It's the oldest trick in the book, and it is just plain wrong.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Jeez, whatever happened to the eye-roll emoji...

People need to stop quoting that story as evidence of an immigration problem.

Overall rate of rape in Germany is DOWN since the immigration crisis started. There were two high profile rape cases that made the news media. One of them didn't even happen. Der Spiegel (highly respected German journalism magazine) looked into these claims and found all kinds of problems with the accusations.

This happens every single time there is a minority group that is disliked by a majority group. Isolated incidents are taken out of context and used to condemn the group as a whole. The right in our country does it with Hispanic immigrants all the time, despite crime rates among illegal immigrants being objectively significantly lower than U.S. citizens. But we are still talking about that one homeless guy in California who shot a woman by the beach, and are using it to try to tain and entire group of people.

in the 1930's the Germans did this with the Jews too. It's the oldest trick in the book, and it is just plain wrong.
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Time will tell!
 
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