Derbyshire Trading Standards has said that if users only stream and don’t download, they’re likely to be exempt from Copyright law and can’t be considered pirates.

So far no one has been prosecuted for merely Streaming content, mostly because it is hard to track, but the Standards body has suggested that while those selling streaming services are probably breaking the law, their customers are not.

Derbyshire Council Trading Standards said that Kodi was a legitimate piece of software and the developers do not support its use for illegal purposes.

“Derbyshire County Council trading standards officers believe it is illegal under copyright legislation to sell Kodi boxes installed with those add-ons that facilitate the illegal streaming of copyrighted material – although there are court cases pending elsewhere in the UK that will provide further clarification.”

“Accessing premium paid-for content without a subscription is considered by the industry as unlawful access, although streaming something online, rather than downloading a file, is likely to be exempt from copyright laws,” the spokesperson added.