Anit-piracy group targets illegal Kodi add ons

An anti-piracy alliance that is supported by major U.S. and U.K. movie studios has been able to force add on developers including jsergio 123 and The Alpha to no longer support their Kodi creations and shut them down.

What is Kodi?

Kodi is a free software media player platform that is available for many operating systems and also hardware platforms. Kodi has no content of its own but it allows users to play and view most streaming media, including videos, music, podcasts as well as all digital media files that are on local and network storage media.

The problem with Kodi is that third parties have created plug-ins or add ons that enable users to have access to copyrighted media content, that should only be available through subscription. There are many boxes available for playing material through Kodi. Some of the more popular are shown on the appended video.

The big media giants clamp down on Kodi's pirate add ons

The Alpha shut down support for its add ons after receiving a letter from the Motion Picture Association (MPA) that represents Columbia Pictures, Disney Enterprises, and Paramount Pictures among many other big players along with the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment(ACE) that includes Sky U.K. plus the Football Association Premier League.

The Alpha shut down the development and hosting of add ons such as urlresolver, metahandler, Bennu, DeathStreams and Sportie.

The letter identified the developer as responsible for third-party software that is able to provide "unlawful access to protected copyright material" The letter noted that The Alpha had been involved in the collection and upkeep of various streaming Kodi add ons. The development has frightened other developers enough that some other popular streaming devices are no longer available.

This is not the first attempt to stop piracy through Kodi add ons. In June, Dish Network sued TVAddons repository and was able to force ZemTV and Phoenix off line.

Although this is described in a recent article as bad news for Kodi, Kodi itself has from time to time tried to distance itself from the illegal add ons.

Often those interested in pirating find ways around attempts by authorities to shut them down as is shown by the continuation of sites such as Pirate Bay the torrent downloader.

My own experience with Kodi

Kodi is free. There is a download site here with downloads for all the systems it supports.

I have a Roku streaming media player connected to my TV. I use it to replace cable TV. I have not used Kodi as a streaming device to my TV since Roku achieves much the same purpose. Many no doubt purchase boxes that stream Kodi add ons replacing their cable channels.

While Kodi cannot be installed on Roku, material from Kodi can be mirrored on it.

I installed Kodi on two of my computers that run Windows ten but have used it for little except to add a global radio add on.

The are a huge number of video add ons and other types as well. However, there is also the free radio garden live which will also give you access to numerous stations around the world without the need of Kodi.

I also use Kodi to play video and music files I have stored on my hard drives and also on external hard drives.

Kodi also has a version that runs on Linux. No doubt many people will still find Kodi useful even without the illegal add ons.

I intend to download Kodi to a laptop I have connected to my TV through an HDMI cable. I can then stream content from the Kodi add ons to my TV.

Previously published in Digital Journal

TPP will lessen competition and reduce democracy as well

The announcement that an agreement was reached by the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) has resulted in considerable discussion and debate on the pact.

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The text of the agreement has never been made public and it is not clear when the text will be released. The details released are probably released by parties whose interests are involved. Many critics of the TPP complain about the secrecy and lack of transparency in the process. There is much discussion of the impact of the deal on agriculture sectors such as dairy farmers who have a supply-managed system. While the agreement does open the system somewhat to allow more imported products into Canada, the basic supply management system remains. The negative impact of the changes will be muted through compensation paid to the industry courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer. The auto parts industry will also be hurt with many jobs lost. Again Harper promises billions of taxpayer money to mute the negative impact.

There is less discussion of other significant aspects of the agreement. The TPP, as with other trade agreements such as NAFTA, is less about free trade and more about placing the power of global corporations beyond the reach of democratic governments. Ironically, our government quite consciously bargains away our right to pass laws and regulations as we see fit. If we pass laws or regulations which are considered inconsistent with the TPP, a foreign corporation can sue Canada.

A leaked text of part of the TPP includes an investor-state dispute settlement(ISDS) very much like the already existing mechanism in Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Wikipedia describes an ISDS as follows: Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is an instrument of public international law, that grants an investor the right to use dispute settlement proceedings against a foreign government. Provisions for ISDS are contained in a number of bilateral investment treaties, in certain international trade treaties, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (Chapter 11)...If an investor from one country (the "Home State") invests in another country (the "Host State"), both of which have agreed to ISDS, and the Host State violates the rights granted to the investor under public international law, then that investor may bring the matter before an arbitral tribunal.As mentioned, NAFTA contains such a provision.

There have been many cases in which Canada has been sued by foreign corporations. In August 2008 Dow Chemicals submitted a claim for losses caused by a Quebec ban on the sale and certain uses of pesticides containing 2-4 D. In this case, the two sides reached a settlement accepted by the tribunal. States cannot sue corporations under the ISDS nor can they receive any compensation should a corporation lose except for their legal costs in some cases.

Canada has already lost seven cases under the ISDS process and paid out damages of $190 million and who knows how much in legal fees. One case filed against Canada challenges a Quebec ban on oil and gas fracking in the province. An analysis of cases under the NAFTA provisions can be found here:This study documents the 77 known NAFTA investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims up to January 1 2015. These include 35 against Canada, 20 against the U.S., and 22 against Mexico. Canada has paid out NAFTA damages totaling over $CAD172 million, while Mexico has paid damages of $US204 million. The U.S. has yet to lose a NAFTA chapter 11 case. All three governments have incurred tens of millions of dollars in legal costs to defend themselves against investor claims.

In Europe, the issue of ISDS mechanisms has been hotly debated The EU parliament has passed a resolution that will require replacing an ISDS system in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnersip(TTIP) ".. by a new public and transparent system of investment protection, in which private interests cannot undermine public policy and which is subject to public law." Brazil refuses to sign any treaty with ISDS clauses. South Africa intends to withdraw from any treaties that have ISDS clauses. In Canada the politicians of the major parties appear to think the issue is not worth bringing into public debate. What is significant are issues that impact specific interests such as the dairy industry or auto industry, where the parties might win or lose votes if they take the wrong position. That the democratic system itself is endangered and more power given to global corporations does not seem important.

If provisions in the TPP allow more penetration of global corporations into new markets such as the Canadian dairy and auto industry then competition will be fostered but in general the exact opposite is the case. In any free trade deal there are always clauses extending copyright and patent lengths, giving corporations monopoly rights over their products. We can expect the costs of drugs to our health care system to increase dramatically as a result of the TPP. It will become more difficult for producers of less expensive generic drugs to be able to replace drugs protected by patents. Protection of copyright terms in the TPP will prevent free or less expensive copied version of items:In the area of copyright, the TPP would require far longer terms of protection than what Canadians agreed to in a parliamentary copyright law review that only wrapped up recently. To smooth the way for the TPP, the federal government has already agreed, in the latest omnibus budget bill, to extend copyright terms for audio recordings from 50 to 70 years. The TPP could also require protection for controversial “digital locks,” which allow copyright holders to encrypt software in computerized devices and criminalize its circumvention.We do not know exactly what will be in the final text. With provisions such as these in the leaked text, it is not surprising that the final text will probably not be released until after the election.

New negotiations for TPP at Leesburg Virginia Sept 6 to Sept. 15

A recent negotiating round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership took place in Leesburg, Virginia from September 6th through to September 15th.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a free trade agreement being negotiated with a total of eleven different Pacific Rim countries up to now. The negotiations began with just four countries but new countries keep joining in. As of now the following countries are invovlved: Brunei, Chile, Singapore, New Zealand, U.S., Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, and Canada. The TPP is describe by Wikipedia as follows:

In 2007, negotiations began for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a significantly expanded version of the agreement, encompassing a larger group of countries. These ongoing negotiations have drawn criticism and protest from the public and elected officials, in part due to the secrecy of the negotiations and a number of controversial clauses in draft agreements leaked to the public. 'Of the 26 chapters under negotiation, only a few have to do directly with trade. The other chapters enshrine new rights and privileges for major corporations while weakening the power of nation states to oppose them.'[2]

On Sunday September 9 the United States Trade Representative's office held what it calls a Direct Stakeholder Engagement. The event is to allow various stakeholders to talk with negotiators one-on-one, to raise questions and share views.

There were dozens of groups represented at the 'stakeholder forum' including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce but also the Brotherhood of Teamsters. Almost 150 representatives of different interested groups gathered in a protest on a hillside after the stakeholder forum. They called for proposals being negotiated to be made public and chanted: "Flush the TPP"

Arthur Stamoulis of the Washington-based Citizens Trade Campaign who organized the protest said:“We want negotiators to release the text, to tell people what they’re proposing in our names."

Transparency has long been an issue. Many consumer, labor, environmental groups, and even some U.S. politicians want positions of participants to be made public. The TPP is supposed to be a model for future pacts. Obama hopes to double U.S. exports by 2014. However, many aspects of the negotiations concern issues other than trade especially intellectual property rights.

Sixty different groups made presentations at the forum with varying agendas from Friends of the Earth to the American Automotive Policy Council. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce along with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America asked that the agreement contain strong protections for copyrights and patents. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said of the negotiations:

“This free-trade agreement is central to America’s economic vision in Asia. By reducing market distortions and leveling the playing field, the TPP will raise the bar for competition in a way that benefits every economy in the region, whether it is an active partner in the TPP or not.”

Global capital will not need a world government to ensure there are global regulations that are in its own interest. These regulations can be achieved by free trade deals that will do an end run around national laws and regulations.

Dutch royalty collection agency pirates song from Dutch composer

In 2006 the Dutch organization BREIN that protects the rights of artists asked Melchior Rietveldt to compose a song to be used in anti-piracy ads. Rietveldt wrote the song but specifically gave permission to use it only at one film festival.
   In 2007 Rietveldt was surprised when he bought a Harry Potter DVD and discovered his song was used in the ad that warns people against copying the movie. He discovered that the song had been pirated and used on at least 70 movies. He next went to the firm Buma/Stemra which is one of the groups in BREIN but whose function is to collect royalties for Dutch artists.
        Eventually after Buma/Stemra failed to pay him all the royalties Rietveldt felt he had coming he sued. Recently an Amsterdam court found in favor of Rietveldt and order Buma/Stemra to pay a fine of 20,000 euros (U.S. $24,474) and the sum of 164,974 musician euros (U.S. $201,878) that was owed. For more see this article.

ACTA an international agreement that challenges internet freedom

While U.S. anti-piracy legislation such as SOPA has been blocked for now internationally the move to censor the internet and protect big media companies is thriving with the passage of ACTA.

ACTA stands for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The agreement is being negotiated between the U.S. Canada, Japan, and South Korea among other countries. The bill would enforce copyright and outlaw counterfeit goods but critics say it would also censor the internet.

The agreement was all done in secret away from the public eye. One European Parliament official reportedly resigned because of the secrecy involved. The official said:"I condemn the whole process which led to the signature of this agreement: no consultation of the civil society, lack of transparency since the beginning of negotiations, repeated delays of the signature of the text without any explanation given, reject of Parliament's recommendations as given in several resolutions of our assembly."

There have been protests in Poland over ACTA. The entertainment industry is protecting their monopoly all in the name of Free Trade. The specific bills that we have already seen in the U.S. are carrying through on promises made in the ACTA treaty. SOPA will be back soon.