Showmax Kodi Add-on Developer’s PayPal Account Targeted by Irdeto

• The developer of a popular Kodi add-on had his PayPal account restricted due to a copyright complaint by Irdeto.
• The anti-piracy outfit filed a DMCA notice against developer Matt Huisman and took down his software.
• The add-on is completely legitimate and did not monetize off of Showmax’s services in any way.

A developer who released a Kodi add-on for Showmax has been facing legal pressure from Denuvo-owner Irdeto, and now the anti-piracy outfit is targeting him personally. TF reports that the developer Matt Huisman had his PayPal account restricted despite his add-on not being monetized in any way for him to earn money off it. Huisman stated that he did not use the add-on himself and made it only because people in the community wanted him to.

PayPal’s communication to Huisman reads “We are contacting you as we have received a report that your website www.matthuisman.nz is currently infringing upon the intellectual property of Irdeto BV. Such infringement also violates PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy. If you feel your sales do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of Irdeto BV, please complete the attached Objection to Infringement form.”

The add-on provided access to Showmax content on Kodi to users who have legitimate subscriptions only and did not promote or enable piracy in any way. Despite it being ‘legitimate,’ the add-on was targeted by Irdeto on behalf of Showmax, and the developer is facing legal pressure. The online subscription service is a South African service and competes against the likes of Netflix and Amazon Video in the country.

Showmax had promised users that it was working on a Kodi add-on on social media platforms but never delivered on the promise. It led to users demanding an add-on unofficially, and Huisman delivered without any piracy involved. It was designed from scratch not to infringe any copyrights. Irdeto took action against the add-on and got it removed from the official repository on GitHub.

Huisman did not make money from the add-on outside of voluntary donations that he has on his website. There are other projects he worked on as well which makes it clear that not all of his donations were necessarily raised for his work on the Showmax addon.

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