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Another Kodi add-on has closed down amid crackdowns on illegal streaming.

Kodi add-on developers are shutting down their services after a high-profile copyright infringement lawsuit was launched in the US, whereby American satellite and broadcast provider Dish Network is suing third-party add-on ZemTV and the TVAddons library.

The developers behind each of the add-ons face a fine of up to $150,000 (£116,000), according to TorrentFreak.

Now others are following suit and football will be one of the key areas that will be cracked down on, before the start of the next season.

The Premier League also recently secured a High Court order that allows it to shut down illegal video streams of football matches on Kodi.

The new movements by developers seems to suggest that decision will be made much easier in the coming months.

In a statement announcing the shutdown of its add-on, Phoenix developer Cosmix implied that the current legal climate had left it with no choice.

"In light of current events we have decided to close down Phoenix," it said.

"This is not something that was easy for us to do; we have all formed a bond that cannot be broken as a team and have a HUGE support base that we are thankful of."

Shutting down the sources of illegal streams is a top priority for the UK Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), the trade organisation for the protection of intellectual property.

"These add-ons have made it incredibly easy for consumers to access illegal content via the Kodi platform. This was their principal function and it's a good step to see them shutting down in the face of perfectly valid legal pressure," said Kieron Sharp, chief executive of FACT.

"Digital piracy costs the UK creative industries millions in lost revenue each year and shutting off access to illegally obtained material is a crucial step in the fight against this type of crime."

However, FACT admits that legislation is often lagging behind technology when it comes to online copyright infringement.

Kodi is open source, so when one add-on is shut down, the code is often copied and republished under a different name, helping it to evade detection.

"The legitimate side of this business is a much more slow-moving beast than the illegitimate side," said Sharp.

"So these things have developed very quickly technologically, and the criminals move in very quickly on that technology. It takes a lot longer for the stakeholders and rights holders to act upon that."

He added that copyright infringement is a criminal offence, and tackling criminal offences can take a long time.

"You have to examine the evidence, get a case together, the police have to be involved, and a prosecution follows from there on in. And that's a lengthy procedure," he said.

"So there's a lot going on of criminal activity still happening, even though you've started criminal action against people."