The following guide will answer the question Is Kodi Legal?
Since its debut as XBMC in 2002, Kodi has become one of the most popular choices for home media entertainment.
It has continually supported plugins for audio, video, and image formats, weather forecasts, and third-party offerings.
Because of Kodi’s third-party offerings (add-ons and builds), many have shown concerns about the legality of this free media player.
Is Kodi Legal? The Short Answer
Yes, Kodi is completely legal as a standalone app. Since the platform is free, open-source software, it doesn’t violate any laws by itself.
The developers behind Kodi have no ties to illegal activities and promotes this software as a tool for managing personal media libraries.
However, Kodi can become illegal depending on how it’s used. Installing third-party add-ons that stream copyrighted material without authorization is where users risk breaking copyright laws.
In other words, Kodi by itself is legal but how you use it determines whether your activity crosses the line.
Hide Your Digital Fingerprint
Here are a few reasons why using Kodi is safe and does not violate any law.
Reasons Why Kodi is Legal
1. Kodi is an Open-Source Software
There’s no question about the legality of downloading and installing the Kodi app. It crosses no legal boundaries and you can use it for numerous functions.
This is because it is a software media player that functions as a complete entertainment hub. In other words, Kodi is a platform and it strictly does nothing on its own similar to GitHub.
2. Current Cases Only Concern “Set-Top Boxes” and ISDs
Legal violations only involve sellers of Kodi boxes, set-top boxes, or ISDs that Kodi is not associated with. The company also owns the trademark to the brand and can now file a case against any set-top box developer that pre-loads it with Kodi and sells the device.
Furthermore, it does not endorse any device and does not authorize the pre-loading of software used by sellers.
3. Kodi Does Not Condone Piracy
Kodi has always been outspoken against developers who continue to use the platform for pirated content and make a living out of illegal add-ons.
They even have a blacklist on their official forum rules of add-ons, builds, wizards, repositories, and forks.
4. Official Add-ons
The Kodi software only endorses official add-ons listed on its website. Anything that is offered by a third-party developer is a result of the software being an open-source media player.
5. Kodi is Just Like the Internet
Kodi highly resembles the internet in terms of functionality. For instance, both contain many features that have been redeveloped over and over. Both can be accessed by anyone so they can be subject to good and bad uses.
This same concept applies to any media player or open-sourced software like Stremio, Plex, Emby, MX Player, WordPress, and others.
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The truth is, we may have yet to find a valid lawsuit against the internet for infringing on copyright claims. Similar to legal cases filed against illegal streamers who provide unauthorized content.
Since this holds true for the internet, then there’s no reason why Kodi would be illegal. This should be enough proof that Kodi in itself is 100% legal.
When is Kodi Illegal?
Because of its open-source nature, Kodi will always be subject to abuse by third-party developers who distribute pirated content. Copyright infringement took off when illegal add-ons gained traction at the expense of Kodi.
The company continues to convince the public and its partners that it is not associated in any way with third-party developers.
Worse, those that offer pre-packaged devices with pirated apps continue to smear the brand’s reputation and Kodi announced in 2016 that XBMC Foundation is “officially tired of this.”
Kodi clarifies, however, that the selling of a “fully loaded Kodi box” is completely illegal. Whereas the selling of “a vanilla Kodi box” and a “fully loaded box that doesn’t have Kodi installed or fully re-brands Kodi to something else entirely” are not.
Technically, this can’t be applied in most countries. Law enforcement agencies do not discriminate which pre-loaded app was installed in ISDs as long as an illegal app comes with it.
History of Kodi’s Legal Issues
1. Amazon App Store Removal
In June 2015, Kodi was officially withdrawn from the Amazon Appstore.
According to Amazon, it banned the software because it can be used to illegally download pirated content. This has perplexed industry experts since Kodi is not bundled with unofficial add-ons upon installation.
Kodi reiterated that it does not condone streaming illegal content and does not intend to profit from such activities.
Critics of the ban also pointed out that there are other suspicious add-ons not associated with Kodi that are available on the App Store but have not caught the ire of the online retail giant.
NOTE: You can still install Kodi using a third-party app installer that hosts numerous apps not available for download.
This is called side-loading. TROYPOINT has created a step-by-step guide that outlines the entire side-loading process.
Or, use the guide below to install Kodi on your preferred device:
2. Firestick and Fire TV Sales Boosted by Kodi
By the end of 2015, UK retailers reported that sales of Amazon’s Firestick and Fire TV had surged with some analysts pointing out the availability of Kodi for installation even after the ban from the Amazon Appstore was made.
The ability to ‘jailbreak’ a Fire TV device is one of the most common reasons consumers purchase these devices.
In the first quarter of 2016, with Kodi now more popular among consumers, the Kodi Foundation made it known publicly that the product’s image was affected negatively by third-party developers who have facilitated their add-ons with Kodi.
An April Fools’ joke was even made by Kodi in 2017 when it substituted its official website with a fake domain to let the public know the organization will only work with legitimate third-party content providers.
3. Cracking Down on Kodi Boxes
2017 saw the biggest Kodi-related legal case to date in the United Kingdom.
Malcolm Mayes, a 65-year-old small-time entrepreneur from Teesside, England, was ordered to pay a total of £250,000 by the Teesside Crown Court after pleading guilty to selling Kodi-like boxes to clubs and pubs across the United Kingdom.
Mayes earned £1,000 per device, which he advertised as “legal” to lure unsuspecting buyers. The court emphasized that the boxes were modified with illegal access to paid content or commonly referred to as “fully loaded.”
After learning about the news, Facebook officially announced through its Commerce Policy that it was prohibiting the sale of all streaming devices pre-loaded with add-ons for paid content access.
In the same year, a 53-year-old British entrepreneur was arrested for selling streaming devices considered Kodi boxes that came with installed software to access paid media. A total of 40 devices were confiscated and he was charged by the local court for violating UK’s Fraud Act and Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act.
4. TVADDONS Embroiled in Controversy
The most controversial and widely discussed case against Kodi add-on developers began in June 2017 when Canadian telecommunications companies such as Bell Media, Videotron, Bell Canada, Rogers Media and several others filed a complaint against the owner of TVADDONS.
TVADDONS was a Kodi repository that allows faster and easier downloading of third-party add-ons for the Kodi media player.
And in a matter of days, another lawsuit was filed against TVADDONS by Dish Network for distributing the ZemTV add-on.
Dish indicated that repeated calls to take down ZemTV were ignored by TVADDONS causing it to accuse the latter of “contributory and vicarious copyright infringement and statutory damages.”
A year later, TVADDONS and Dish settled the lawsuit by signing a confidential agreement. However, the Canadian lawsuit case is still awaiting decision from the court.
ZemTV, on the other hand, was ordered to pay $650,000 to Dish citing unauthorized re-transmission of channels.
It’s not just with the media companies that the repository war waged on. Kodi repeatedly expressed its disapproval of TVADDONS’ services and has distanced itself from the latter.
It even posted a tweet in response to TVADDONS stating its hopes for the company to lose in court.
TVADDONS, however, writes that the company is not in any way affiliated with Kodi or the XBMC Foundation.
5. Google, Facebook Take Stand
The world’s most popular search engine, Google, removed the term “Kodi” from its autocomplete search query in March 2018.
The search engine site revealed that the move was made to combat piracy through removing autocomplete search terms “related” to piracy.
This was influenced by a court ruling in Europe that the sale of so-called “Kodi boxes” infringe on copyright material.
Revising its previous policy against the sale of streaming devices, Facebook expanded its ban to all Kodi-powered devices in August 2018.
Kodi boxes are not permitted to be sold on the site’s Marketplace, Shop Section, or Buy and Sell Groups pages because these devices can be used to stream unauthorized content.
It does not, however, ban the sale of add-on equipment for Kodi such as remote controls and keyboards.
According to the social media company’s commerce policy, “Posts may not promote the sale of devices that facilitate or encourage streaming digital content in an unauthorized manner or interfering with the functionality of electronic devices.”
How to Use Kodi Safely
Having a virtual private network (VPN) in place is effective in blocking your ISP from tracking or blocking the content you’re viewing.
A VPN allows a Kodi device to connect to it and in return provides a different IP Address to mask the user’s internet activity. Our preferred VPN for Kodi is Surfshark.
Many internet service providers are starting to block Kodi add-ons, builds, and wizards. This is because these companies also provide cable service that conflict with Kodi and eventually cut into their profits.
A Kodi VPN will mask your activity and provide you with the privacy that you deserve.
Aside from this, ISP throttling or the intentional slowing of your internet connection by your ISP once you download large video files is rampant.
Comcast, Cox Communications and even Charter have allegedly broken seeding connections by users who have accessed P2P or BitTorrent traffic on the network.
Final Thoughts from Troy
Kodi is a legal platform on its own. It’s how you use it that defines its legality. The emergence of third-party add-on developers continues to pose a threat against the organization’s legitimacy.
This has prompted lawmakers to ratify existing regulations to curb illegal access to paid content and the distribution of ISDs.
However, grey areas still exist in what constitutes copyright infringement, especially in the scope of media streaming.
What do you think about this topic of Kodi’s legality? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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