For months now we have seen lawsuits and criminal actions against manufacturers of so-called “Kodi boxes,” and now it looks like the battle is moving to the United States.
These “Kodi boxes” are typically Android-powered streaming players with Kodi and third-party add-ons installed. Many of them are advertised as great ways to get free movies and TV shows that you would typically have to pay for.
A long list of Hollywood giants are starting to go after these manufacturers in the United States. According to a report, last week from TorrentFreak, Amazon, Netflix, and several Hollywood studios have filed a lawsuit against Tickbox TV.
Now it’s likely you saw one of the Tickbox TV ads on Facebook recently. It has been flooding social media with ads for months: “Simply plug the Tickbox TV into your current television and enjoy unlimited access to ALL the hottest TV shows, Hollywood blockbusters, and LIVE sporting events in one convenient little device…”
This marketing push likely brought the device to the attention of Hollywood studios who in their lawsuit said:
“TickBox promotes the use of TickBox TV for overwhelmingly, if not exclusively, infringing purposes, and that is how its customers use TickBox TV. TickBox advertises TickBox TV as a substitute for authorized and legitimate distribution channels such as cable television or video-on-demand services like Amazon Prime and Netflix,” the studios’ lawyers write.
“The TickBox TV instructional video urges the customer to use the ‘Select Your Theme’ button on the start-up menu for downloading add-ons. The ‘Themes’ are curated collections of popular add-ons that link to unauthorized streams of motion pictures and television shows.”
This is the first lawsuit of this type in the United States because the defendants are located within the United States. If it goes the way of the major studios this suit will likely not be the last. Often studios try to find a case they think is the most winnable to set a precedent and from there they can go after others.
You can find more details and a full copy of the complaint on TorrentFreak’s website.
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