Kodi says it has ZERO sympathy for pirates

[Len]

Kodi has had enough of "self-entitled whiny people" complaining that their illegal add-ons are broken

Kodi has responded to the recent crackdown on illegal plug-ins and add-ons on its platform, claiming it has "zero sympathy" for people who use its software to access pirated content.

Although the Kodi media player is totally legal , there is a vast array of third-party apps available that offer access to illegally copied films, TV shows and live sports matches.

As a result, Kodi has gained a reputation as a "piracy facilitator", meaning many legitimate content publishers like Netflix and Amazon refuse to work with it.

In recent months, there has been a major crackdown on these third-party apps by copyright owners, with some of the most popular add-ons - such as Phoenix and TVAddons - shutting down.

Now many Kodi users are flooding Kodi's online forums and social media, complaining that their "Kodi boxes" are no longer working.

Kodi itself does not manufacture TV set-top boxes, but many unscrupulous retailers sell Android TV boxes pre-installed with the Kodi media player and a selection of illicit add-ons.

The XBMC Foundation, which oversees the Kodi software, appears to be utterly fed up with the situation, stating that it is not interested in hearing users' complaints, and labelling those who sell these fully-loaded Kodi boxes as "criminals".

"If you post in our forums or social channels about a pirate add-on or streaming service not working please expect ZERO sympathy or support," it said in a blog post .

"We don't care. We care less than not caring. We don't care biggly.

"And to counter a popular comment; if the Kodi userbase drops a huge percentage because pirate services flee or die, we're fine with that. Kodi has been around since 2002 and we are not going to implode or disappear (unlike the pirates).

"Life will be a little quieter, but less time spent on self-entitled whiny people means more time writing great code and having fun. We're okay with that too."

The news comes after an investigation by the UK's Intellectual Property Office revealed that 15% of UK internet users - approximately 7 million people - stream or download material that infringes copyright.

In particular, streaming boxes that can be easily adapted to illegally stream premium TV content such as blockbuster movies are now used by 13% of online infringers.

This threatens to undermine recent progress in tackling online piracy by legitimate streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify .

Ros Lynch, Copyright and IP Enforcement Director at the IPO, said that illegal streaming "is not a grey area", and that content creators deserve to be paid for their work.

"This government takes IP infringement extremely seriously and we are working with our industry partners and law enforcement to tackle this emerging threat," she said.