Popcorn Time, Stremio, Top Flix, Niter… from time to time a new app or streaming platform comes along that promises to “have it all”. This phrase is recurrent in the vocabulary of those who are users and recommend it to others.
After all, it’s almost a dream to be able to use just one app that’s capable of concentrating the main launches of television, cinema and services like Netflix and HBO Max – without having to pay that heap of subscriptions, isn’t it?
The name of the time is My Family Cinema, which brings an important difference in relation to similar applications: it is paid and has copyrighted content informally fed by the subscribers themselves.
But does that make it illegal? To what extent does this type of service avoid being considered piracy? Here we will explain the operation and dynamics of this controversial platform. Follow!
What is My Family Cinema and how does it work?
Source: My Family Cinema app interface
The application defines itself as a personal media player and hub of news and information related to the cinematographic universe. And indeed, My Family Cinema offers these functions.
The tricky issue, however, is that the platform allows users to upload their own personal content, and there is no monitoring or filtering of what is shared. Which, in a way, “discharges” the service of any illegalities, given that it does not store the material.
It is so easy that anyone can upload their own cloud/server to make content available to other users, as if it were a Google Drive or OneDrive link – but with a friendly, intuitive interface that recalls the standards that are used. on official platforms.
This is what, in a way, distances My Family Cinema from the ‘dark’ look usually associated with pirated applications less concerned with disguising their clandestinity.
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My Family Cinema is installed via APK, that is, it is not available for download in official app stores, and it has become a real rage on Android smartphones and tablets, in addition to the infamous TV Box.
Values and plans available at My Family Cinema
It is possible to use My Family Cinema for free, but only for 7 days. After this period, the user is invited to make a paid subscription to continue browsing the platform. See below the values and advantages according to the official website:
- Monthly: BRL 16.75 per month. The plan includes HD and Full HD images and unlimited reproductions;
- Basic: BRL 12.00 per month or BRL 143.95 per year. The plan includes HD and Full HD images, up-to-date information and unlimited playback;
- Duo: BRL 19.99 per month or BRL 239.95 per year. This plan includes images in HD and Full HD, updated information, unlimited reproduction and up to two screens simultaneously;
- familiar: BRL 27.99 per month or BRL 335.95 per year. The richest plan offers images in HD and Full HD, up-to-date information, unlimited playback and up to four simultaneous screens.
Payment can be made via card, transfer, bank slip, PayPal and even via Pix, in addition to stores specializing in the platform that receive the money. Plans are automatically renewed as soon as the contracted cycle ends.
Vast catalog of movies, series, reality shows and more
It is difficult to specify the numbers that refer to the amount of content available on My Family Cinema. According to the service’s website, there are more than 55,000 movies and 9,000 series available in the catalogue, but this data may be underreported – since users upload countless of their own contents daily.
In addition to movies, series and cartoons in several languages – ranging from classics to the most recent releases –, the application also offers access to programming of national and international TV channelsin addition to sports content that includes the main football leagues, such as the Champions League, Premier League, Serie A and so on.
Is My Family Cinema illegal after all?
A short time ago, the team responsible for the application received accusations alleging that the platform facilitates piracy. In their defense, the app’s owners again claimed that they are a “personal media player” in order to offer “cinematic information”, and that it does not provide the content itself.
According to lawyer and specialist in public law, Gustavo Henrique Alves da Luz Fávero, one must understand what happens with the My Family Cinema application – among other apps and devices that transmit copyrighted videos without permission from their holders –, and also deepen a little about what would constitute a crime before the Judiciary.
“It should be remembered that Law n. 9.610/98 and the Penal Code itself provide that it does not constitute an offense to copyright (and, therefore, does not constitute a crime) the reproduction of a copy without the intention of profit. in article 46 of the Copyright Law and in article 184, paragraph 4 of the Penal Code.”
However, Fávero states that from the moment the application sells or obtains economic advantages, even if indirect, there is a ‘link’, where the question of the MyFamily Cinema application is found.
TV Box is one of the main devices to run the applicationSource: Amazon/Reproduction
“It is not overlooked that these are situations that are difficult to prove, especially since there is a chain that is difficult to identify who would be making those contents available or providing something that is not even a company. In addition, the investigation and initiation of the criminal action itself depends, in these cases, on the victim’s initiative, that is, on one of the injured copyright holders”concludes.
- Check out: After all, what is the difference between IPTV and Gatonet?
The specialist in civil law concludes by explaining that, on the other hand, it is also worth noting that both users and maintainers of the application are subject to their respective civil responsibilities, since the Copyright Law, in its art. 102, provides for compensation to the holder of rights.
The issue is complex and very likely it can gain more chapters with the “war” that Anatel and Ancine are promoting against the pirated signal. keep following the TechWorld so as not to miss any developments regarding the case.
