Dragon Box To Settle With Netflix, Amazon And Hollywood Studios

Streaming device manufacturer Dragon Media has agreed to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Amazon, Netflix and the major Hollywood studios.

The manufacturer notified U.S. District Court Judge Michael Fitzgerald in Los Angeles about the settlement late last week. Details of the agreement haven't yet been revealed.

The move will bring an end to a year-old dispute between the studios and Dragon -- one of several device manufacturers to face copyright infringement complaints.

Dragon, like the companies Set TV and TickBox, is powered by Kodi -- open-source software that enables people to play video.

Dragon allegedly offered users a customized version of the Kodi media player that included add-ons that search for pirated video.

The studios alleged in a complaint filed one year ago that Dragon encouraged piracy. Its device “provides the hallmarks of using authorized streaming services -- a user-friendly interface and reliable access to popular content,” the complaint read.

Much of the complaint focused on Dragon's marketing, which positioned the company as a substitute for cable TV, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Dragon Box also allegedly boasted on Facebook that consumers could access pirated content like the movie "Warcraft" -- allegedly available for streaming via Dragon two days before the official theatrical release.

In September, TickBox TV settled a similar lawsuit by agreeing to pay $25 million. The company also promised to refrain from presenting users with options to download add-ons that enable people to stream unlicensed movies or TV shows. The court papers didn't specify which add-ons are covered by the agreement, but explicitly excluded the browsers Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox.

A lawsuit by Amazon, Netflix and the studios against Set TV remains pending.

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