Kodi add-on host prepping for legal battle

A Montreal man connected to a popular repository for Kodi add-ons, who was ordered by the Federal Court to submit to the search and seizure of his property following a claim by a group of telecoms, is fundraising to fight the lawsuit. According to the court registry, a civil search warrant was carried out at a property connected to Adam Lackman following a June 9 order by Justice René LeBlanc on the request of BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron and TVA Group. Lackman is behind TV AddOns, a popular library for unofficial add-ons used with Kodi, a software application for set-top boxes that is frequently used to stream TV shows, movies, music, and more, for free. According to Lackman’s Indiegogo campaign page, the order and suit came even though he was never sent “a takedown notice, despite being required by law. We never hosted nor direct linked to any type of protected content. Less than 1% of the total Kodi add-ons we indexed were even accused of being ‘infringing.’” The search happened on June 12, the campaign page said, and lasted 16 hours, during which his “personal computer and other belongings were seized, including domain names and social media accounts that weren’t even related to TV ADDONS.” Lackman himself was “interrogated for a period of nine grueling hours, during which he was denied the right to remain silent,” the page said. TV AddOns, along with add-on host Offshoregit, which are both named in the order, were taken offline in early June, according to online discussion forums. In addition to authorizing the search and seizure of a Montreal property, LeBlanc’s order also levied a two-week injunction on “communicating works for which the copyright is owned by the Plaintiffs… to the public by telecommunications, including by directly or indirectly participating in the developing, hosting, distribution or promotion of and KODI add-ons that provides users with unauthorized access to the Plaintiffs Programs.” A second judge found the order unlawful, the campaign page said, calling for Lackman’s property to be returned and for the site to be allowed to resume operation. However, according to the campaign page, “somehow the plaintiffs managed to convince the appeals court to grant a stay-of-execution (temporary pause of the judgment pending appeal) on the return of property, domain names and social media accounts.” During a July 11 hearing in Ottawa, lawyers for the telecoms said Lackman’s site was like a mini-Google, offering an easy way to access infringing content for those who may not be technologically savvy. Lackman’s lawyers argued that much like a search engine, Lackman’s site wasn’t responsible for add-ons linking to infringing content, and that, like Google, it was merely a conduit. On July 13, the Appeals Court stayed the order that found the search unlawful. In his reasons for decision, judge André Scott cited evidence presented suggesting Lackman "has used offshore entities to conduct his business operations," and said that "it is not the number of infringing add-ons that must be considered in this particular set of circumstances, but rather the fact hat the primary focus of targets a market of users seeking to knowingly access copyrighted materials without authorization." TV AddOns is also the subject of a complaint filed at the end of May by the Dish Network Corp. in the U.S. District Court. The website was named as the means by which users could access the ZemTV add-on. “Website Operators have actual or constructive knowledge of this infringing activity and materially contribute to that activity by providing the forum where the ZemTV add-on can be downloaded and soliciting and accepting donations from ZemTV users,” the claim said. If it wasn’t for TV AddOns making the specific add-on available, “most, if not all of Developer’s distribution and/or public performance would not occur.” In its first day, as of 5 p.m., Lackman’s fundraiser — which is aiming to raise $250,000 — had accumulated more than $11,700. Lackman’s case is the latest salvo in TV providers’ battle against piracy and online streaming. Bell, Rogers and Quebecor also successfully won an injunction against retailers selling set-top boxes preloaded with software, like Kodi, that allows user to access pay-TV programming for free. According to the court registry, the companies recently issued a sixth statement of claim, adding 11 new defendants to a list that already includes 50 others. Bell and TVA also shut down a website said to be pirating the TVA Sports and RDS sports channels last year, following the search and seizure of computer equipment in Quebec. — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca CLARIFICATION: This article has been updated to better reflect the chronology of the court proceedings.

Kodi add-on host prepping for legal battle

Broadcast | August 2, 2017

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Kodi add-on host prepping for legal battle

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