You might be thinking of using IPTV and you’re not quite sure of what it is and whether it’s legal or not. Using IPTV seems to some people too good to be true; how can you have all of this with only a router and a subscription? IPTV subscriptions allow you to watch all of your favourite channels and shows as soon as you use the services and subscribe to it.

However, not all of the IPTV business is legal. Some subscriptions use streaming piracy, which is the illegal aspect of IPTV.

In this article, we are set to answer a lot of questions concerning what is IPTV, when it’s legal and when it’s not legal.  Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll have a better idea.

 What is IPTV?

Instead of getting your TV services from the traditional sources like satellite signal and cable, with IPTV, which is “Internet Protocol Television” you get your services through the internet. All you need is a router and a fast internet; more than 4Mb/s. With IPTV you get more options like watching VOD and online video streaming.

IPTV for many people means more freedom over what you watch on their TVs. And to many other people, it’s the future of TV.

However, the legality of IPTV depends on many things, as we shall learn in the next paragraphs.

Is IPTV illegal or not?

Using an illegal IPTV subscription for personal use is something that many people do without being prosecuted. But that doesn’t mean it’s something okay. For example in the US and the UK, many people got their internet accounts suspended for the mere reason of using an illegal IPTV subscription.

More than that, using IPTV in a P2P streaming format might drive the content owners to come after.  Many companies are trying to take people who use IPTV to be prosecuted by the law.

In the legal systems, the question of using IPTV is still unsettled, which means that many people can use it and they won’t be bothered with the law. But, that might not be the case in the future.

Generally, using IPTV at home is not an illegal act. Home users are still free to subscribe to IPTV and enjoy it. The legal system only condemns people who are rebroadcasting the copyright content, such as movies and sports for their gain. This means that if you have a café, hotel, motel or a restaurant and you use illegal IPTV you will be in a bad situation

The types of IPTV

The first kind of IPTV is services like Netflix, which provide VOD (video on demand) content for monthly or yearly payments. These services allow you to have a wide range of movies, TV series and documentaries.

Another type of IPTV is the one that broadcasting companies provide, which is an online service, in which you get to watch what programs that were broadcasted in a certain channel at any time.

The third type is the live broadcasting IPTV, in which you stream live TV directly from the internet, as it’s being broadcasted.

What exactly is streaming piracy?

It’s easy to define streaming piracy; it’s simply the illegal us and broadcast of copyright-protected material through the use of the internet.

Although it’s very usual for people to watch their favourite movies and series on the internet that they haven’t purchased, it becomes a legal problem when these individuals try to profit from that content. Also, downloading and redistributing content without a license from the original owners violates their creative efforts and hinders the show business. The law is strict in this regard.

 The forms of IPTV

Here we will be distinguishing between the legal and illegal forms of IPTV

Legal IPTV accounts :

• IPTV Free trial accounts are legal; 24 hours free trials such as the ones Netflix gives
• There are also VOD service accounts, in which you pay for the selected content that you want to watch.
• Time-shift accounts are made by TV broadcasting companies; their people can watch a program that has been broadcasted at any time.
• The most popular is TV IPTV, which is the services that many companies like BeIn and Sky provide.

Illegal IPTV subscriptions and services :

To give you a summarized idea; there are many forms of illegal IPTV uses, either software or hardware. The credit and the profits in these cases go to to the people who distribute the service, instead of the people who hold the rights. Examples of this are Kodi Android TV accounts, Accounts that you can get from illegal decoder manufacturers, illegal apps, and illegal websites …

Free streaming also can be illegal in the case of streaming piracy.

Are fully-loaded Kodi and Android TV boxes illegal?

The fact that some software and devices are subject to illegal activities doesn’t mean that the devices are intrinsically meant to perform such things. The use of the software and devices is legal as long as the content that is broadcasted on them is also legal and comes from a source that has the right to do so. Such is the case with Kodi and Android TV box; the two of them are used by some individuals to gain profit by providing illegal IPTV

Can I identify illegal IPTV Services?

The task of identifying an illegal IPTV service might not be very easy.  Here are some tips on how to do that.

To determine whether the business is legal or not you will have to check if the source doesn’t come from the original holder of the copyrights.

If the business has no structure, it’s most likely to be illegal.

The quality of the broadcasting and weather it’s synchronized or not with the original source also determines that.

The country restriction also plays a role in detecting illegal business.

The last thing is advertising; the illegal IPTV providers may broadcast their advertisement in the middle of a show.

Why do people stream from illegal IPTV?

Many reasons drive people not to subscribe to legal IPTV; the main reasons, however, are related to finance. Poor people won’t even think of subscribing to an IPTV provider as long as they can just download online or stream. Another reason is overpricing; the legal IPTV providers tend to overprice sometimes, which is something that can drive people away from their business. Country restrictions can also play a role in this issue; if people cannot find their favourite content with a legal IPTV provider they will look the other way. However, the reason that drives many to subscribe to illegal IPTV is the fact that it’s easily accessible; since many parties benefit from exploiting it; others will help them through buying it.  

Dangers of using Illegal IPTV Services

Using illegal IPTV isn’t free from dangers. Although it might seem like a wise choice for people who want to save money, it could cost them more in the long run. For example, if someone got caught, they might pay a fine, which can be very high-priced. Other dangers might come from bad software; IPTV users are very vulnerable to viruses and spying software. And since there’s no good tech supports with the illegal subscriptions, many problems that you might face with the service cannot be fixed. Also, the illegal IPTV subscriptions are very prone to buffer, which can be daunting, especially when you’re watching sports.

What are the devices that support IPTV?

The devices can be either used with a legal IPTV subscription or an illegal one; it depends on the person who uses them.

Most of the devices that you can find in the market can be used as a vehicle for IPTV. Smart TVs are the first to come to mind along with PCs. Android smartphones and Apple products can also be used. Some other people prefer to use other devices like Amazon Firestick and similar hardware.

Can I get prosecuted from using IPTV illegally?

The parties that get the most damage from the illegal IPTV subscriptions are the copyright holders. The big companies that hold the rights of broadcasting the content will file a lawsuit as soon as they find out that another party is exploiting their content.  

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