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IPTV Smarters, a popular Android app that allows users to watch IPTV streams of their choice, has won its copyright dispute. The company behind the app says its lawyers dealt with both Google and the complainant, reaching the conclusion that the software doesn’t infringe copyright. The app has now returned to Google Play.
Right up until early this month, IPTV Smarters, one of the most popular and impressive IPTV players, was available from Google’s Play Store.
The software, which is available for Android and iOS, allows people to watch IPTV streams but, at the time of delivery, carries no content. If users want to view anything, they have to add login details for their service of choice.
While the software can be used for legitimate means in the same manner as a torrent client, for example, some IPTV Smarters users utilize the software to access infringing content. As a result, on October 7, 2019, the developer of the software received a copyright complaint which led to Google removing it from Google Play.
At the time, the company behind the software, New Spark Technology, told TorrentFreak that this was the third time it had received a complaint about its player and that its legal team would sort out the issue. That has now resulted in the software being reinstated by Google.
Speaking with TF, Amanpreet Singh declined to mention the name of the company behind the complaint but did reveal that it was based on copyright law and alleged breaches of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).
“Our lawyer has handled this case with Google and the company that claimed. We have clarified to them that we are not offering content and not infringing copyright. As all know, we are not offering any kind of media content – streams, subscriptions, channels, etc. The user must have their own content,” Singh said.
The outcome of the claim, according to Singh, is that this should never happen again, at least when it comes to any future complaints from the unnamed company.
“I have discussed with my lawyer, they will work on it to prevent it from happening again. But the same group/company can’t complain anymore I assure you,” he added.
“In the end, we have got our application back as we promised. There was no evidence so it was a false complaint.”
While many app developers are small teams without the resources to fight back against dubious claims, that’s not the case with the company behind IPTV Smarters. Singh says it’s a pretty big development operation with 67 staff members.
Meanwhile, an apparently similar complaint, against the IPTV player Perfect Player, is still ongoing. That tool was removed from Google Play just a few days ago and remains unavailable via the platform.
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