MK Plex add-on for Kodi killed off by legal letter to TVAddons
Kodi has been in the news a great deal recently, thanks largely to a surge in interest in addons for the media center software. High profile addons like Phoenix disappeared, as did (temporarily) the addons site TVAddons.
The latest victim is a Plex addon from MetalKettle -- MK Plex. Eager to avoid legal action after receiving a letter from Plex's legal team, MetalKettle decided to shut up shop rather than continue to provide an addon that could be used to access Plex through Kodi without a paid-for Plex Pass subscription.
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MK Plex perfectly replicated the capabilities of the Plex for Kodi addon, namely "the advanced customization of Kodi home theater and the beauty and simplicity of Plex for access on any device, anywhere, anytime" -- but without the need to pay Plex any money. In what has been described as "good handling of online copyright dispute," Plex chose to tackle the issue not by complaining about what the addon does, but rather how it is named and presented.
The letter sent to TVAddons -- and seen by TorrentFreak -- reads:
We represent Plex, Inc. of Los Gatos, California, USA ('Plex') in trademark and other intellectual property legal matters. Plex recently learned that you offer a software product called MK Plex that is promoted on [your] website.
The designation MK Plex infringes on Plex's intellectual property rights and therefore Plex hereby demands that you remove all web pages that use the designation MK Plex, delete all software branded MK Plex and disable all downloading, and cease all other use of Plex's trademarks immediately.
It goes on to say: "The designation 'unofficial plugin' indicates that your use of MK Plex is intended to trade on the reputation and goodwill of the Plex brand."
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A representative for TVAddons says that MK Plex simply should not have made it to the site in the first place:
We love Plex and would never do anything to cause them grief. The user generated addon in question should never have made its way into our repository in the first place and we apologize for that.
We'd like to stress, however, that we took swift action as soon as Plex made us aware of the issue. This is why it's so important that all web sites with user generated institute a legitimate takedown notice system, so that issues like this can be amicably resolved much faster than they could be in court, without any harm done to either party. TV ADDONS has always and will continue to respect the rights of others.