Essential Install | News
Kodi Hit By EU Ruling
Millions and millions of Brits have turned to Kodi for their streaming - but a landmark case spells bad news for some.
Using a multimedia player such as Kodi to stream pirated video content online is just as bad as downloading an
illegal copy, an EU court has now ruled.
In a landmark ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that the temporary reproduction of a
copyright-protected work, obtained without the consent of the copyright holder, is NOT exempt from the “right of
reproduction”.
The right of reproduction states that no person other than the copyright owner can make any reproductions or
copies of the work.
The ruling effectively means that anyone who streams an illegally copied film or TV show is breaking the law – just as
they would be if they downloaded it.
The court explained that streaming this content “adversely affects the normal exploitation of those works and causes
unreasonable prejudice to the legitimate interests of the copyright holders”.
In other words, copyright owners are losing money because people are streaming content for free online, rather than
paying for subscriptions.
The ruling is significant because it means the fact that streaming only generates temporary files is no longer a
legitimate defence against charges of copyright infringement.
Kodi has hit back and has released an official statement via its website. Kodi is arguing that the decision of the court
appears to address two related issues and is not fundamentally a major problem for its service.
Kodi said: “The team is, frankly, quite pleased with this decision. As we’ve said in the past, pirate box sellers are a real
problem for users, because they provide users with constantly breaking messes, vanish, and then expect Team Kodi to
provide support to users who are confused about what Kodi is, where their ‘free movies’ are coming from and all of the
issues related to this problem.
“We don’t have any problem with users setting up their boxes however they want. We just want them to actually know
what they are getting themselves into when doing so. We are also not particularly worried by this decision. “
Kodi added: “To put it simply, pirate streaming appears to be illegal in the EU. With that said, even though pirate
streaming appears to be illegal in Europe, we still stand by our neutral policy.
“We are developers and not the police, and we have no interest in acting as police for our own software. Kodi will
remain as free and as open as it always has.”
Essential People
AWE has appointed Michaela Mitchell as its area sales manager for the North of England. Known as Miki and based in
West Yorkshire, she has considerable experience, relationships and market knowledge.
Stuart Tickle, AWE’s managing director, said: “Miki’s got fantastic market knowledge, a focus on great customer
service and the personality that makes her an excellent fit for AWE.”
Jamo has promoted Mark Casavant to the role of managing director of Jamo International. Mark, who also serves as
senior vice president of global brand and business development for Klipsch Group, assumes this new role following a
career in international business, sales and product development.
Paul Jacobs, president and CEO of Klipsch Group, said: “Mark brings more than 26 years of CE experience and
expertise to our leadership team, as well as intimate knowledge of international market needs, global operations, and a
true passion for quality, high-performance audio.”
PMC has appointed Ian Sutton to the position of divisional director, to head up a newly formed UK distribution
business. Ian, who has spent the past 13 years working for Bowers & Wilkins, is based at PMC’s head office, Holme
Court, near Biggleswade.
Ian reports directly to PMC’s owner and managing director, Peter Thomas, and also has management responsibilities
for the UK sales team.
TRIAX has appointed Thorsten Spanka as vice president for hospitality sales. He has a range of industry
experience, having built and led international hospitality-focused sales teams at Siemens, and more recently at ASC
AG and NFON AG.
“I’m thrilled to join TRIAX at such an exciting time of strategic expansion,” Thorsten said. “Reliable and innovative
technological solutions are more critical than ever to the hospitality industry.”
Miki Mitchell, AWE’s area
sales manager for the
North of England
14 | July 2017
Jamo’s Mark Casavant
PMC’s Peter Thomas and Ian Sutton
Thorsten Spanka, TRIAX’s
vice president for
hospitality sales