Court case could put this popular Kodi add-on service in danger

[Len]

KODI add-ons service loses its appeal to stop legal action against them as court allows case to continue.

A popular Kodi add-on service looks certain to face legal action after an appeal was rejected by a US court in Texas.

TVAddons and ZemTV have been accused of copyright infringement by US broadcaster Dish Network.

The two services had claimed that, because they aren’t based in America, the case should be dissolved.

The owner of TVAddons Adam Lackman is from Canada while ZemTV’s developer Shahjahan Durrani is from the UK.

“Lackman and Durrani have never been residents or citizens of Texas; they have never owned property in Texas; they have never voted in Texas; they have never personally visited Texas; they have never directed any business activity of any kind to anyone in Texas, and they have never earned income in Texas,” the appeal reads.

However, District Judge Vanessa Gilmore has ruled in favour of the US network Dish, denying the claims of both TVAddons and ZemTV.

Speaking about this latest legal action a spokesperson for Dish Network told Express.co.uk, “DISH is very supportive of innovation like Kodi and legal streaming services.

"The suit does not target individual end users, rather it seeks to stop a very specific add-on that supplied pirated content.

"We feel obligated to raise awareness about content that users may not realise is pirated, while also supporting our programming partners who work to create and supply content legally.

"We remain committed to combatting piracy and ensuring consumers have reliable, affordable options to access the content they enjoy."

If TVAddons and ZemTV lose the case it could change the face of illegal streaming and Kodi-style add-ons.

With many offering free access to premium content add-ons have become hugely popular in recent years.

In fact, it’s thought that over 70 per cent of Kodi users access content illegally via them.

The team behind Kodi have been increasingly distancing themselves from this type of activity and recently got embroiled in a spat on Twitter with TVAddons over the legal action.

“We hope you lose in court,” Kodi tweeted at the official TVAddons social media account.

Many other add-ons have already shut their doors in fear of similar legal action and fines.

One service, Navi-X, which was first set up in 2007 recently told its loyal fans it simply could not continue to provide content.

Speaking about why it closed, the Navi-X team said: "Every good thing must come to an end.

"After ten years of successful operation, Navi-X has sadly being discontinued. Navi-X was first released in April 2007, and is the oldest Kodi addon of its kind.

"The main reason why the decision was made to discontinue the Navi-X service is the current legal climate surrounding Kodi.”