The sellers of a Kodi-powered TV box are facing a huge fine and a total shutdown after a court ruling in the US.
Dragon Media has been in a long-running battle with ACE, which is a coalition of major Hollywood studios and streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix.
Now a judge has ruled in favour of the ACE and the TV companies with Dragon Media being ordered to pay over $14million (£10million) in damages and to cease trading.
In documents, published by Torrent Freak, the ruling states: “Judgment shall be entered against Defendants and in favor of Plaintiffs on Plaintiffs’ claims of copyright infringement, and damages shall be awarded to Plaintiffs in the amount of US $14,500,000.”
Along with paying these substantial damages, the defendants have also been told to end the sale of its popular Dragon Box device and any similar subscription services.
Speaking about the judgement Richard VanOrnum, a spokesperson for ACE, said: “Today’s legal victory is another significant and positive step in reducing online piracy and supporting creators around the world.
“ACE is pleased the agreement will ensure the immediate shutdown of the illegal Dragon Box system.
“The theft of creative content is a pervasive threat to the dynamic legal marketplace for movie and television content, and ACE will continue its global efforts to advance creativity.”
On behalf of its members, ACE brought legal action against the Defendants for designing, marketing, and selling a computer hardware device and service (“Dragon Box”) that enabled mass theft and illegal distribution of copyrighted films and television shows.
This is another major victory in the battle against illegal streaming which is still thought to be a hugely popular way of accessing content.
Kodi is one of biggest TV players on the market with some five million users in the UK alone.
Kodi itself is not illegal with the team behind the TV player actively distancing themselves from watching content without permission.
However, with Kodi being an open platform it does offer a way for people to adapt it via so-called add-ons.
It’s these that are causing the most concern for the authorities and rights holders.
Over the past year, many add-ons have closed their doors in fear of facing fines and even time in jail.
And this latest judgement in the US will only go to heighten the concern about offering content illegally.
One major add-on service called Navi-X has been vocal about why it decided too bow out of the market after 10 years.
Navi-X was first set up in 2007 but the team behind the software say they simply can’t 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.
“In case you aren’t aware, the abundance of preloaded Kodi box sellers has resulted in a lot of heat on Kodi in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
“It’s unfortunate, because the people who are bringing the heat have nothing to do with the Kodi community anyway, they’re just leeches trying to profit from the hard work of Kodi developers.
“Nevertheless, hosting Navi-X playlists is no longer something we feel comfortable doing due to the potential liability that comes with it.