Canadian telecom giants Bell, Rogers, and Videotron have escalated their copyright fight against the sale and distribution of Android set-top boxes and websites that facilitate distribution of addons for Kodi software. Kodi boxes – Android set-top boxes pre-loaded with the open source Kodi media player software – have become increasingly popular in recent years. The set-top boxes turn standard televisions into “smart TVs”, enabling users to access their own content and a wide range of video content found online. By all accounts, this includes authorized content such as YouTube, Netflix or other online video providers, as well as unauthorized streaming services that offer access to unlicensed content. The set-top box providers do not make the content available themselves, but rather sell a device preloaded with software that can be used to access both infringing and non-infringing content. In the case of “addon” sites, the sites point to addons or plugins that can be added to the Kodi media player software to make it easier to access online content.
Bell, Videotron, and Rogers became increasingly concerned with the technology last year, claiming that the pre-loaded software on set-top boxes makes it easy to access infringing streaming content. Although the same could be said of most personal computers, they argued that the set-top boxes increase the likelihood of consumers cancelling their cable or satellite service and infringing their copyrights. Given their concerns, the companies asked the federal court to issue an injunction banning several companies from distributing any set-top boxes with pre-loaded software, characterizing the technology as an “existential” threat to their business models. The federal court issued the injunction, ruling that the companies met the legal standard of demonstrating “irreparable harm.”
More recently, the companies used the same strategy to target TVAddons, a Canadian-controlled website. The site contains information on Kodi software as well as addons that can be added to the media player. The case has attracted mounting attention due both to the manner in which the telcos used a civil search warrant (known as an Anton Pillar order) to access the home of Adam Lackman, a Montreal man who owns the site, as well as the copyright issues in the case. Their actions are documented by TorrentFreak, the CBC, and the National Post, which chronicle abusive conduct that included hours of interrogations without the ability to consult a lawyer along with efforts to obtain new evidence (as opposed to preserving existing evidence).
Several weeks after the search, a federal court judge vacated an earlier injunction and ordered the materials seized during the search returned (that order was later stayed by an appellate court). The judge’s findings indicate that the telcos went far beyond acceptable conduct in their efforts to shut down the site:
“It is important to note that the Defendant was not permitted to refuse to answer questions under fear of contempt proceedings, and his counsel was not permitted to clarify the answers to questions. I conclude unhesitatingly that the Defendant was subjected to an examination for discovery without any of the protections normally afforded to litigants in such circumstances.”
Further:
“I find the most egregious part of the questioning to be in the independent solicitor’s affidavit, wherein he deposes that counsel for the Plaintiffs ‘provided Defendant Lackman with some names’ of other people who might be operating similar websites. It appears the Defendant was required to associate that list of 30 names with names, addresses and other data about individuals that might have some knowledge or relationship to those names. The list and the responses of the Defendant are found on three complete pages in the exhibits of the independent solicitor’s affidavit. I conclude that those questions, posed by Plaintiff’s counsel, were solely in furtherance of their investigation and constituted a hunt for further evidence, as opposed to the preservation of then existing evidence.”
The judge then concludes that the Anton Pillar order was purposely designed by counsel:
“to completely shut down the Defendant’s operation. To the Plaintiffs, it mattered not that, by their own estimate, just over 1% of the Add-ons developed by the Defendant were allegedly used to infringe copyright. I therefore conclude that the purpose of the Anton Pillar Order under review was only partly designed to preserve evidence that might be destroyed or that could disappear. I am of the view that its true purpose was to destroy the livelihood of the Defendant, deny him the financial resources to finance a defence to the claim made against him, and to provide an opportunity for discovery of the Defendant in circumstances where none of the procedural safeguards of our civil justice system could be engaged. [emphasis added]”
The federal court findings are incredibly damning, suggesting abusive conduct by representatives for Bell, Rogers, and Videotron.
The copyright questions in the case are still to be determined, but as the federal court judge acknowledged, there are legal arguments on both sides. Canada has some of the world’s toughest anti-piracy legislation, including an “enabler” provision established in 2012 that makes it easier to target sites whose primary purpose is to enable infringement. The provision states:
It is an infringement of copyright for a person, by means of the Internet or another digital network, to provide a service primarily for the purpose of enabling acts of copyright infringement if an actual infringement of copyright occurs by means of the Internet or another digital network as a result of the use of that service.
The factors to be considered include:
(a) whether the person expressly or implicitly marketed or promoted the service as one that could be used to enable acts of copyright infringement;
(b) whether the person had knowledge that the service was used to enable a significant number of acts of copyright infringement;
(c) whether the service has significant uses other than to enable acts of copyright infringement;
(d) the person’s ability, as part of providing the service, to limit acts of copyright infringement, and any action taken by the person to do so;
(e) any benefits the person received as a result of enabling the acts of copyright infringement; and
(f) the economic viability of the provision of the service if it were not used to enable acts of copyright infringement.
In the TVAddons case, evidence will be needed to determine whether the enabler provision applies. The federal court judge already took note that the vast majority of the addons on the site are unrelated to infringing content. In fact, of the 1,500 addons, only 22 – or roughly 1% – were identified as infringing addons. Lackman’s lawyers argue that the site is akin to a search engine, functioning as intermediary to assist in locating content, but not playing a role in communicating it in violation of the Copyright Act.
Rights holders have powerful tools to stop infringing activity in Canada but courts should be cautious about shutting down disruptive technologies that have substantial non-infringing uses. These battles have gone on for decades, dating back to the Sony Betamax and Diamond Rio MP3 player, with established companies seeking to stop new technologies from gaining consumer acceptance. Android boxes, Kodi software and the thousands of addons can be used in many legitimate ways to provide consumers with alternatives to restrictive set-top boxes provided by cable and satellite companies.
In this case, there are challenging legal questions that deserve a full hearing with evidence at trial (Lackman is currently crowdsourcing support for his defence). What seems clear from the federal court judge, however, is that Bell, Rogers, and Videotron hoped to circumvent a trial altogether, obtaining an order designed to shut down the site without the opportunity to apply any of the legal safeguards to which everyone is entitled.
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I find it kind of sad that, after decades of specializing in delivering video content and taking our money, a $50 android box hooked to the TV (less than 1 year rental fees for the ‘digital’ box from my provider) is capable of delivering such a better experience via free software that they have to resort, in apparent fear, to these kind of tactics.
They should be experts now at content delivery – instead they are experts at injecting advertising, “growing revenue” via bi-yearly monthly bill increases, renting obsolete hardware to view it with, paying lawyers and paying lobbyists. I’d be willing to bet the lawyers in this action alone logged more hours than the developers who code/maintain their respective set top box software.
What makes me most sad though, is we’ve been paying for TV service monthly since the early 90’s, and this is what they have decided to do with that loyalty (and apparent recession proof increasing profit margin) – instead of offer something better so the choice is a no-brainer… they’d ‘release the hounds’.
Agreed. The cable companies are organized thugs, set on embezzling as much money from you as possible, while illegally trying to shut down any alternative to their horrendous extortion. Big Thug leaning on the little guy. What a bunch of losers.
With exception of free services like youtube, it does rely on stealing to provide content. Its pretty easy to undercut the competition when you stealing your product.
Except it’s not stealing. It’s simply directing you to free sources. Google doesn’t get in trouble simply because they link you to The Pirate Bay, and even TPB is just a search engine.
What a suprise from these three companies (what next?) better have your billing up to date or a surprise visit in the night by some unsavoury looking gents.-Offering to take you for a ride.v
To get kodi, you need a good high speed wifi with no monthly limit. Where does one go to get such an internet package? Bell and the other telecoms at an inflated price over bundling cable television with internet. To cut the cord for kodi makes little sense. There is minimal savings and you would be accepting less than reliable viewing. In my opinion the best that kodi can do is augment your cable tv.
I have 100 meg down 10 meg up unlimited bandwidth for $70 a month.
I run Kodi on 7 devices on multiple platforms in the house. We have very few issues, due to tweaking the configuration on kodi and we average 750 gig a month in bandwidth.
Most is in HD, and I save tons of cash. So to say to cut the cord makes little sense is hilarious. I’ve been chord free for years.
Cable with a few premium channels is maybe $159 a month or more. Internet is half that. You could easily save $1000+ a year. Maybe you call that ‘minimal savings’ – most folks would not.
If you check Lightspeed in Burnaby BC they may have your access in your area I pay 60 a month for 60 speed unlimited
If you are willing to pay a fortune to the cable companies to watch what they want to give you whenever they like to give it to you, be my guest. I prefer to have the option to watch what I like when I like.
I wholeheartedly second this motion! The mega corporations are raking in millions to give us “organized advertisement for profit”. 10 minutes of show followed by 7 minutes of commercials with a ticker tape on the bottom of the screen shoving even more advertisement in your viewing field. And big cable providers love it because they get a cut of the profits. If I want advertisement, I go get the papers with the the fliers in them. That way I control what I want to see and the recycling bin is just in the garage. We, the people, don’t have much of a choice in the matter. “buy what we sell you or else”. Personally, I like to have a choice. The cable companies in Canada are in cahoots with one another to control the markets. Can you spell protectionism? Her is competition between them. I charge $10 for a service and you charge $9.99. That’s their idea of competition. The last time an organization tried to control the people in this way there was a war going on and 6 million people suffered horribly. What a damn shame this is happening in this great country of ours.
Big Brother/Business is mad because someone has stepped on their toes and MAY be siphoning a few percent of the BILLIONS they rape their users for! It is ALL about the money!! These guys hac\ve leeched from the consumer for YEARS giving less and less content for higher and higher prices! Personally I hope they are placed in jeopardy of losing THEIR business as consumers fight back!
in support of a dead business model that no one is happy with but have been stuck with for so long these companies are willing , yet again to engage in criminal behavior. I have had to take bell to the a tribunal to recover money owed to me on two separate occasions . they are criminal in there billing and behavior and engage in bullying if you have a dispute over money owed to them by subjecting you to financial repression via debt collectors, these criminal corporations have overstayed there welcome. we should no longer support them other than what is nescessary for cable
this is about the size of it
Putting together streaming links is a crime??? How?? If CNN offers a streaming link online and the same link is used through Kodi how is that a damn crime???
it’s not a crime, hence why this case is so infuriating and draconian.
They, meaning Bell et al, are saying that if your device allows someone to access pirated content, then you too are guilty of copyright infringement. You know, the same way a person who actually uploads the copyrighted material without permission and makes it available is guilty. Oh wait. Wouldn’t that mean that it is illegal to manufacture any electronic device that can access the internet and download things? Someone could (and most likely will) use that to violate copyright. Frankly, I thought this nonsense should have been decided with the SCC’s ruling in the hyperlink case. These sort of things don’t constitute infringement.
“The federal court findings are incredibly damning, suggesting abusive conduct by representatives for Bell, Rogers, and Videotron.” Welcome to the consumer experience with these companies, happily abetted by the CRTC!
I have had to take Bell to the commissioner of complaints of the crtc on two separate occasions for basically criminal Behavior by denying me money that they owed me. In my opinion the crtc acts as a buffer between the public and the telcos the true purpose of the commissioner for complaints is to try to resolve to the satisfaction of the telcos problems that arise with customers who will not just go away and this process is made easier so that you won’t take them to small claims court where you would get settlements from these corporations that vastly exceed settlements that you can get from the crtc the crtc will basically give you your money back for myself the next time I have to deal with one of these companies in a legal matter I will be taking them to small claims court and demanding that the court pays me a reasonable amount of money for the time and aggravation that it takes me to get my money back from these criminal corporations
good luck. it’ll take you years and years to see the inside of a courtroom.
LOL, yes the CRTC should be abolished.. it’s archaic. In fact, some political parties have used that in there platforms during election time.
The big three stooges can go fly a kite. I’ve been cable free for over 4 years and the content from these android boxes is better then what these stooges offer. If you want to shut this service down, they’re going to have to shut down the internet. Good luck with that. More power to the little guy.
These companies need to leave kodi alone but consider them competition and make their services better and competitively priced so they can win back some of their old subscribers. Play fair.
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Thuggery. Corporations that act in this way are not of benefit to society and need to be more strongly regulated or abolished.
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