Aptoide, an alternative Store for applications Android, remove popular lists P Time and Showbox from its repositories.
Η company has not commented on its decision, but it appears to have come after a complaint that the Store encouraged copyright infringement through these apps.
Aptoide is an alternative to the official Google Play Store. Among other things, it allows users to install too many applications on their Android devices.
The digital marketplace, which operates out of Portugal, recently accused Google of anti-competitive behavior when the biggest search firmsignalnot as an insecure website.
The fight with Google wasn't her only dispute market Aptoide. A few weeks ago the company was sued by two film producers, TBV Productions and Hunter Killer Productions. They are the companies behind the movies “I Feel Pretty” and “Hunter Killer” respectively.
Producers accuse Aptoide store of facilitating mass piracy. In particular, the complaint states that the company promotes, encourages and promotes the use of Popcorn Time and Showbox applications in violation of copyright.
Popcorn Time and Showbox are free apps that allow users to view videos. Both support streaming via BitTorrent and are regularly connected with piracy. This has often led developers to legal problems.
"Defendants should take steps to stop the mass piracy of movies carried by the Show Box app and Popcorn Time," the complaint states.
Οι παραγωγοί αναφέρουν ότι το Aptoide store εμφανίζει και τις δύο εφαρμογές σαν "αξιόπιστες" που σημαίνει ότι είναι "100% ασφαλείς". Ενώ βέβαια το 100% αναφέρεται σε ζητήματα ασφαλείας, οι ενάγοντες το θεωρούν σαν προώθηση της εφαρμογής.
According to Aptoide statistics, the two applications are quite popular. Popcorn Time has descended from 500.000 to 3 millions of times while Showbox has millions of downloads from 5 to 25. This is not surprising, as both applications are described as excellent sources for free movies.
Copyright owners are naturally seeking damages for alleged violations, as well as a court order that will stop Aptoide store from providing these apps to the public.
However, it appears that the court order will not be needed, as Aptoide has already deprived the applications of its digital shelves. The initial URLs of the Showbox and Popcorn Time apps, which were in the complaint, do not lead anywhere.
"Δεν βρήκαμε το App που ψάχνετε. Προσπαθήστε να χρησιμοποιήσετε την παραπάνω φόρμα αναζήτησης για να βρείτε την εφαρμογή σας "
Many other Popcorn Time apps have been removed, even though they are not mentioned in the complaint.
Watch this PDF with the Torrentfreak complaint.
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