UK Man jailed for Android box fraud

[blinkone]

One man has been jailed and a second has received a suspended sentence after being convicted of supplying IPTV devices capable of scanning the internet for illegal TV streams.

City of London Police said it was the first case of its type.

The prosecution was brought by the Premier League against Terry O’Reilly and Will O’Leary, who supplied the equipment to pubs and individuals. The Android-based devices scanned the internet for foreign TV channels, unlicensed in the UK, which programming including live Premier League Football.

The two were convicted at Nottingham Crown Court of conspiracy to defraud. O’Reilly was sentenced to four years in prison; O’Leary, pleaded guilty and received a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Premier League Director of Legal Services, Kevin Plumb, said: “Like other creative industries the Premier League’s model is predicated on the ability to market and sell rights and protect its intellectual property. It is because of this that clubs can invest in star players and managers, and world class stadiums – the very things fans enjoy about our competition.

“This case is particularly important as it is the first involving sellers of so-called IPTV devices which enable people to watch illegal content. The Courts have provided a clear message: this is against the law and selling systems which allow people to watch unauthorised Premier League broadcasts is a form of mass piracy and is sufficiently serious to warrant a custodial sentence.

The Premier League was supported by FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) following a significant investigation by the City of London Police.

FACT Director General, Kieron Sharp said:“As the first sentencing of IPTV boxes in England, today’s result should send a hard-hitting message to anyone involved in selling illegally modified set-top boxes. The sale and distribution of these boxes, which are loaded with infringing apps and add-ons allowing access to copyrighted content, is a criminal offence and the repercussions could result in years behind bars.”

Sharp thanked the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) for its support

source

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2016/12/12/man-jailed-android-box-fraud/

[Hania22]

Oh Thats So awkward Thinking ...

[RISCy Dude]

Read this story and thought it is only a matter of time before users are targeted. If one lives in a country where intellectual property rights are taken seriously, I would not run Kodi add-ons that enable that type of theft. It is a good idea to avoid apps that let you view material you know should not be free. Stick to the Kodi official add-on repository and all should be well, of course, that being said, I am not a lawyer.....or anyone's mom.

[scooter2014]

Thanks Mom. Lots of comments can be made. Statement of facts is clear. Some tend to think its a right to infridge and demand same. If you know the history he stated he was going to prove it was not illegal. He proved it was.

From another Awkward thinking person

[bluesmanuk]

When I see the big companies also allowing the selling of the fully loaded boxes, such as ****, Amazon etc then I will be confident that those wishing to protect their intellectual property will be taking things seriously.

I suspect that this might go to the EU courts, who at the moment at least have declared streaming not to be illegal.

Whilst nobody can condone the actions of these people, 4 years is a little draconian and the UK is becoming more like the US in its approach to jailing, where far worse offences are dealt with greater leniency and those large industries and institutions that commit mass fraud on a scale that dwarfs this kind of thing often escape any real punishment.

[scooter2014]

Ahhhh Fully Loaded is totally different then watch hbo and everything else for free. Free soccor matches. Listing all the channels they are pirating. So kind different in my view. **** not really the seller more like a broker. So cant see what they do wrong. They offer FULLY LOADED but dont list anything. I get your point. But basis of the doh head getting charged was he was arrogant and thought it was his RIGHT to stream Pirated feeds and networks. He isnt so Arrogant now though. I get that everyone in the world thinks its free. And that they have a right to get it for free. Maybe a warped view in my mind. What about programers why should you pay for programs why pay for a program? Because someone worked and expects to be paid at some point.

[bluesmanuk]

They were supplying the units to pubs for them to stream the football matches though, so in essence, acting in the same way as any other seller that bundles the addons or apps that are capable of doing the same thing.

[deebee123]

Hate to bring up an old thread ,but this one caught my eye. Seems the guy was going pub to pub selling not TV boxes which may have certain software or capabilities. Instead he was selling the intent and ability to commercially defraud specific entities which just happened to include certain devices and software.

one could argue that the above examples are really the same but if these pub owners bought a box and then on their own decided to use it to defraud or infringe on intellectual property then it's on them.
But in this case it seems this guy was selling the fraud itself.

either way the sentence is crap , this guy stuck out as a major violator and was hammered down as a scare tactic, an example to discourage those who might follow in his footsteps. And encourage those who consider themselves as law abiding people to pay.
But now I am just stating the obvious

[blinkone]

Controversial new law could see Kodi TV box users face up to 10 YEARS in prison

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...#ixzz4g2Tm1RTD

[scooter2014]

Intimidation/fear mogering. Its for CONTENT PROVIDERS not end users there is no way they can charge a normal streamer downloading content streaming cant happen... They even state that they dont think end users would ne charged. But those not doing it and using netflicks wouldnt use cheap china crap to try watch hd content. No point no drm

[bluesmanuk]

It makes sense that if you cut off the supply then there are no users to benefit.

I'm surprised that the UK is the only nation really taking action.

I would have thought that the US would have been more active than anybody.

I think that it's possible that a lot of content is now coming from China, where it will be far more difficult for other nations to be able to act effectively.

[trinidad]

fact and other Intellectual Property Crime people might sound like they make sense but if you think about it if these people had been around for a couple of hundred years libraries would be illegal