mickybha
Well-known member
- Jan 2, 2010
- 518
Using the popular Kodi box to stream pirated movies could land you TEN years behind bars.
A controversial new law means it DOES infringe on existing copyright laws if you use the device to watch pirated shows.
Last week the Digital Economy Act received Royal Assent, meaning it officially passes into law with the maximum prison term increased from two years to ten.
This now means that watching a stream of Game of Thrones because you don’t have Sky is more than likely going to be fine, but according to the law, you are still a criminal.
Kieron Sharp, the CEO of FACT , told Mirror Tech that the copyright measures included in the bill are primarily targeted at those committing a serious offense. Anyone "making a business" out of selling illegal content could potentially face up to ten years rather than two.*
Those who casually stream a couple of movies every once in a while are extremely unlikely to be prosecuted to such extremes, he said.
"For minor matters, nothing changes," he said. "But it should hopefully provide a little bit of clarity."
What does the law state?
Regardless of the practicalities of enforcing the bill, the Act does mean those using streaming services or torrents to watch copyrighted material are - under the letter of the law - criminals.
As the Open Rights Group notes, Clause 27 of the Act states that criminal liability is to be determined by "causing loss" and "risk of loss" to the owner of the copyright.
This is defined as merely failing to pay a licence fee, so ordinary people engaged in domestic "filesharing" on a non-commercial basis could potentially find themselves facing long jail sentences.
Mr Sharp added that the casual streamer is likely to be threatened with a six month suspended sentence and a costly fee at the most.
However, at some point, an example could be made by prosecuting a casual user.
"At some point, someone who is illegally streaming is going to get caught. Although it's not our wish to go after the end user," he said.
The fight against Kodi continues Kodi continues to cause numerous problems for broadcasters as it easily offers access to illegally distributed content.
Law enforcement agencies are trying to crackdown on people who sell TV streaming devices prepacked with Kodi addons also.
Selling these "fully loaded" TV set-top devices is a breach of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
In December 2016, Terry O'Reilly was sentenced to four years imprisonment for selling illegal set-top TV boxes, a prosecution brought by the Premier League with support from FACT.
Then, in March, Malcolm Mayes, from Hartlepool, was sentenced to ten months in prison (suspended for one year) and ordered to pay costs of £170,000.
A controversial new law means it DOES infringe on existing copyright laws if you use the device to watch pirated shows.
Last week the Digital Economy Act received Royal Assent, meaning it officially passes into law with the maximum prison term increased from two years to ten.
This now means that watching a stream of Game of Thrones because you don’t have Sky is more than likely going to be fine, but according to the law, you are still a criminal.
Kieron Sharp, the CEO of FACT , told Mirror Tech that the copyright measures included in the bill are primarily targeted at those committing a serious offense. Anyone "making a business" out of selling illegal content could potentially face up to ten years rather than two.*
Those who casually stream a couple of movies every once in a while are extremely unlikely to be prosecuted to such extremes, he said.
"For minor matters, nothing changes," he said. "But it should hopefully provide a little bit of clarity."
What does the law state?
Regardless of the practicalities of enforcing the bill, the Act does mean those using streaming services or torrents to watch copyrighted material are - under the letter of the law - criminals.
As the Open Rights Group notes, Clause 27 of the Act states that criminal liability is to be determined by "causing loss" and "risk of loss" to the owner of the copyright.
This is defined as merely failing to pay a licence fee, so ordinary people engaged in domestic "filesharing" on a non-commercial basis could potentially find themselves facing long jail sentences.
Mr Sharp added that the casual streamer is likely to be threatened with a six month suspended sentence and a costly fee at the most.
However, at some point, an example could be made by prosecuting a casual user.
"At some point, someone who is illegally streaming is going to get caught. Although it's not our wish to go after the end user," he said.
The fight against Kodi continues Kodi continues to cause numerous problems for broadcasters as it easily offers access to illegally distributed content.
Law enforcement agencies are trying to crackdown on people who sell TV streaming devices prepacked with Kodi addons also.
Selling these "fully loaded" TV set-top devices is a breach of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988.
In December 2016, Terry O'Reilly was sentenced to four years imprisonment for selling illegal set-top TV boxes, a prosecution brought by the Premier League with support from FACT.
Then, in March, Malcolm Mayes, from Hartlepool, was sentenced to ten months in prison (suspended for one year) and ordered to pay costs of £170,000.
