Singapore cracks down on anime piracy
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i still think he's in it because that's the only way he can get some action
"oi.. retard... wanna help us indulge in some financial sodomy of downloaders?"
"duuuuuhh.. sodomy? yeah.. sure.."
Originally posted by ^tamago^:mun420 from Sammyboy.comÂ’s Alfresco Coffee Shop paid $5.00 and dig up the Odex Pte Ltd ACRA information. EVERYTHING is in the report ranging from SS only hold 1 share out of 1 million shares to IC numbers, addresses and stuffs.
I have mirrored it for your convenience: Odex Pte Ltd ACRA Information
http://lesterchan.net/blogs/2007/08/20/odex-pte-ltd-acra-information/
Source: http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=149538.71
Foreigners are screwing Sinkees, with dumb Stephen Sing-kee acting as scapegoat.
DL Odex Pte Ltd ACRA Information here. -
too many thread about ODEX already -
Yes. Some companies attempting to catch illegal downloaders have used this method before.Originally posted by dumbdumb!:hmm. if say ODEX seed some anime torrent, would they be able to know who dl from them? -
isn't that entrapment?Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Yes. Some companies attempting to catch illegal downloaders have used this method before.
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Yup. There's a book by Wallace Wang titled "Steal This File Sharing Book". It has some details of the companies that did that...Originally posted by the Bear:isn't that entrapment?
Can be borrowed in libraries. -
unfortunately, i recall governments doing the same b4, so i doubt its going to be a problem legallyOriginally posted by the Bear:isn't that entrapment?
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Thanks for putting up the correct linkOriginally posted by ^tamago^:mun420 from Sammyboy.comÂ’s Alfresco Coffee Shop paid $5.00 and dig up the Odex Pte Ltd ACRA information. EVERYTHING is in the report ranging from SS only hold 1 share out of 1 million shares to IC numbers, addresses and stuffs.
I have mirrored it for your convenience: Odex Pte Ltd ACRA Information
http://lesterchan.net/blogs/2007/08/20/odex-pte-ltd-acra-information/
Source: http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=149538.71
Foreigners are screwing Sinkees, with dumb Stephen Sing-kee acting as scapegoat.
DL Odex Pte Ltd ACRA Information here.
-
I doubt they can get a warrant as well. Unless they have significant amount of evidence against you already. And that would probably include not just IP addresses. They will have to pay for every hard disk they tear apart, and HOPE that forensics MAY be able to reveal hard incriminating evidence.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:The issue of wireless certainly will raise questions. But we need concrete proof. If you yourself don't use P2P, then it's possible to win the case. I'm pretty sure the laws here allow a forensic scientist to examine the hard disk. If offered this option, get a forensic scientist to examine the hard disk, to prove that no P2P softwares have never been installed before.
However, if you use P2P, you better be prepared for fight hard.
There's also another issue to point out. MAC addresses can be fake, as long as the user have the technical know-how. It's pretty easy to do it in Windows and Linux (don't ask me how, I do a lot of illegal stuffs... so this isn't new to me).
Of the so many users caught, I don't believe none will know how to change their MAC address, unless it can't be changed (for minority of the network cards, but it still can be bypassed).
Not to say I'm helping ODEX, we have to be clear on facts here.
Anyway, I doubt if ODEX could obtain a warrant to do a forensic on your hardware, simply because they can't. They are after all a private entity. Unless of course, this case is turned in to the police. Then it's another issue.
Chances are, if they want to do that, they will just pick ONE poor bugger to pray apart. Cost of doing it to all 1000 is ridiculous. -
http://bmaurer.blogspot.com/2007/02/big-media-dmca-notices-guilty-until.html
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Big Media DMCA Notices: Guilty until proven innocent
It's no secret that media companies have started to hire companies such as BayTSP to automatically find file sharers and send letters to their ISPs. The goal of this is to use fear to persuade people to use legal methods of getting digital content.
Many ISP's, especially universities, trust the good faith of these companies and will automatically deactivate the Internet connection of those who they get notifications for. As a personal project, and with the help of Carnegie Mellon's Information Security Office (which employs me to work on various computing security tasks), I decided to investigate the reliability of notices from companies such as BayTSP. The answer: the companies do not actually gather the data they claim to. Their standards for sending DMCA notices are very low.
In order to understand the issues, it's first necessary to have a basic understanding of BitTorrent. In order to download something via BitTorrent you download a ".torrent" file from any number of sites that index the content. This file contains a fingerprint for every piece of the file that you are attempting to download. It also contains a reference to a tracker. This tracker is the way that peers (the people downloading the content) find each other. After contacting the tracker, you contact each of the potential peers that the tracker shares with you (and other peers may contact you). The client then begins swapping parts of the file with each of the peers. What the media companies object to is that in the process of downloading the file, your client will offer parts of their copyrighted content to other users -- a violation of copyright law. In order to catch these violations, BayTSP advertises fake clients to the Bittorrent tracker and uses the list of peers which it gets back to find violations
For my investigation, I wrote a very simple BitTorrent client. My client sent a request to the tracker, and generally acted like a normal Bittorrent client up to sharing files. The client refused to accept downloads of, or upload copyrighted content. It obeyed the law.
I placed this client on a number of torrent files that I suspected were monitored by BayTSP (For my own protection I don't want to identify the torrents used for this research. I used the fact that NBC is a client of BayTSP to find trackers. If you want to check if BayTSP is monitoring a torrent, look for IPs coming from ranges in test.blocklist.org). Because the university's information security office is very diligent about processing DMCA notices, I would be able to tell if the BayTSP folks sent notices based on this. With just this, completely legal, BitTorrent client, I was able to get notices from BayTSP.
To put this in to perspective, if BayTSP were trying to bust me for doing drugs, it'd be like getting arrested because I was hanging out with some dealers, but they never saw me using, buying, or selling any drugs.
The fact that BayTSP does not confirm that the client it is accusing actually uploads illegal content could cause false identification of innocent users. BitTorrent trackers work via a standard HTTP request request, for example:
GET /announce?info_hash=579CC43E4D66D35AE22312985EA04275939AB477&peer_id=asdfasdfadfasdf&port=12434&compact=1
One easy way to make somebody look likea bittorrenter would be to get them to go to a website with the code. They'd be on the tracker, and BayTSP would see their IP address, and might send them an infringement notice. BayTSP might check that they are listening on the port they advertise (maybe even check for a BitTorrent handshake). If the user is using bittorrent for legal usages, you could just advertise a port they were listening on. More investigation is needed into exactly what triggers the notice.
One even easier trick you can use: the BitTorrent clients BayTSP uses support Peer Exchange. You can give them the name of another peer for them to rat out to the ISP.
At the end of the day, BayTSP (and probably other similar companies) are sending DMCA notices which claim that they detected a user uploading and downloading copyrighted files. This is a lie. They didn't catch the user in the act of downloading. A lying tracker, a peer using peer exchange, hostile web page, or buggy BitTorrent client could all result in a false DMCA notice.
If your ISP forwards a DMCA notice from these guys, point them here. This research suggests that they have no evidence of wrong-doing. If ISPs learn that the folks sending them DMCA notices are not being completely honest, they may be willing to reconsider their position about how they respond to the notices. The people I work with at Carnegie Mellon seemed willing to reevaluate their policies given this evidence. I believe that ISPs should require that any peer-to-peer related DMCA notice include a statement regarding exactly what evidence of sharing was found. Ideally, the notice should contain evidence that could be corroborated with log files (for example, "we found that the client at 123.1.2.3 uploaded 1 MB of file X to 4.3.2.1". The ISP may be able to check that there was 1 MB of traffic between these two clients).
A piece of good news for anybody who has gotten a bittorrent related notice from BayTSP: it doesn't seem like a studio could do much in terms of court action with the evidence BayTSP gives them.
For the technically minded, I though I'd share some observations of the behavior of BayTSP's clients
* BayTSP's clients don't don't accept incoming connections, only send outgoing ones. I wonder what exactly this is for.
* Some of the BayTSP clients claim to be using Azureus (and support Azureus extensions), while others run libtorrent. I'm not sure why they are doing this
* When BayTSP's clients connect to a BT user, they claim to not have downloaded any of the file, but refuse uploads. Not only does this behavior not make any sense for an actual user, but it seems like BayTSP would want to accept data, which might provide proof of infringement.
* Some of the IP ranges I noticed coming from BayTSP were: 154.37.66.xx, 63.216.76.xx, 216.133.221.xx. Sometimes, they make themselves really obvious on the tracker. For example, 154.37.66.xx and 63.216.76.xx will send 10 clients to the same tracker all claiming to listen on port 12320. Maybe trackers should block these folks -
siao siao. thr's information from odex. way too zai liao
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Something new from them
http://www.odex.com.sg
ODEX CLARIFICATION ARTICLE
Singapore, 20 August 2007- Singapore anime distributor Odex has commenced action to deal with and contain the state of rampant downloading of unauthorised anime video files on the internet.
To date, Japanese content owners have not made any anime titles legally available for download in Singapore. There are websites offering “free” anime downloads, such as Animesuki, but none of these websites are authorised by the Japanese content owners.
Odex is authorised by the Anti-Video Piracy Association (Singapore) (AVPAS), a non-profit organisation whose members consist primarily of Japanese companies involved in the anime industry, including major companies such as Sunrise Inc., TV Tokyo Medianet Co., Ltd, Gonzo Digimation Holding K.K., Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. and Aniplex Inc., to take all steps necessary to protect and enforce the copyrights subsisting in more than 400 anime titles.
These 400 over authorised titles do not consist only of anime titles that are licensed to Odex. Whether or not and to whom an anime title is licensed for sale in Singapore does not change the fact that they all enjoy copyright protection under Singapore law. Odex was appointed to conduct the present enforcement drive because it is the largest distributor of anime in the region, and it has conducted successful enforcement actions in the past in relation to the sale of pirated anime VCDs and DVDs.
In 2006, Odex engaged a US-based sentry company, BayTSP Inc, to provide Odex with a software solution that would track and record instances of unauthorised downloading of anime titles over the internet. BayTSP has provided similar solutions for companies such as Paramount Pictures and Viacom in its ongoing suit against Google.
Based on searches conducted over a 6-month period from November 2006 to April 2007 on 50 anime titles only using BayTSPÂ’s tracking solution, Odex found that there were more than 400,000 instances of downloading in Singapore. Singapore was found to have the highest level of anime downloading in the world by population.
Upon consultation with the members of AVPAS as well as other affected Japanese content owners, Odex was tasked to organise a major enforcement effort, and represent all the content owners in enforcement action against downloaders in Singapore, under the auspices of AVPAS.
The objective of this enforcement drive is to carry out sustained action that will serve as a wake-up call to anime fans and other internet users in Singapore that downloading is illegal. Many internet users in Singapore download copyright material which is owned by major foreign companies, such as film production studios and television networks in the US and Japan. These companies have so far not taken action in Singapore, not because downloading is legal, but because Singapore has not been a priority for enforcement. This will now change, at least where anime is concerned, in view of the alarming statistics gathered from BayTSPÂ’s data.
From March to May 2007, Odex made applications to court to require the three ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in Singapore to release information identifying subscribers whose accounts had been used to download unauthorised anime videos over the internet. The applications against SingNet and Starhub were granted by the courts, while the application against Pacific Internet is still pending. Such applications are nothing new – ISPs here have routinely been required by court orders to produce information containing subscriber details in order to facilitate the identification of potential defendants in lawsuits involving claims such as defamation and infringement of intellectual property.
At present, there are more than 3,000 IP addresses that are the subject of court orders already issued, or of pending applications in court. Some reports have referred to Odex obtaining information relating to 1,000 IP addresses from each ISP. This is inaccurate. None of the ISPs assigns unique IP addresses to their subscribers, and it highly unlikely that 1,000 IP addresses would in fact translate to the identification of 1,000 different subscribers – ie the figure would be much less.
Once the subscribers were identified, Odex wrote to all of them, to offer them a chance to settle the copyright ownersÂ’ claims against them out of court, before legal action was commenced against them. Many of those who received OdexÂ’s letter have since come forward to admit that they had been engaged in downloading, and have settled the matter.
The average amount of compensation paid by those who have settled is about $3,000 to $5,000. At present, no damages have been claimed, and the copyright owners are only seeking reimbursement for the expenses that Odex has incurred on their behalf in pursuing these enforcement matters, as part of an early settlement before claims are filed in court.
Settlements before action are very common in practice. Far from amounting to extortion, they represent a sensible way of redressing wrongs and grievances, and allowing the parties a way out of unnecessary litigation. Should the copyright ownersÂ’ attempts (through Odex) to amicably resolve matters be rejected by any downloader, then the copyright owners are free to commence legal proceedings against the downloaders to claim all remedies that they are entitled to claim under Singapore law, including damages, an injunction, and legal costs.
Some reports have stated that Odex may earn up to $15 million through compensation payments received from downloaders, on the basis that Odex receives $5,000 from each of 3,000 subscribers. This is again not true. 3,000 IP addresses do not equate to 3,000 different subscribers. Further, Odex does not require all downloaders to pay $5,000 in compensation.
The main factor in deciding the compensation amount for early settlement purposes is the level of downloading carried out by each individual. Bearing in mind that the enforcement drive is still at an initial stage, conscious efforts have been made to keep the amount claimed to a minimum. The amount paid to Odex so far has not covered even 20% of OdexÂ’s enforcement costs incurred to date. Additionally, downloaders who face genuine financial difficulties have been allowed to pay significantly reduced compensation amounts, or to pay in instalments.
There have been reports stating that Odex has charged 10% on compensation sums where the downloader was allowed to pay in instalments. This is not true – Odex has not asked anyone to pay interest on the compensation sums paid.
In the US, companies that have taken legal action against downloaders have typically been awarded hundreds or thousands of dollars in statutory damages for each infringing work downloaded, in addition to recovery of their legal costs and expenses from these downloaders. The Singapore Copyright Act also allows copyright owners to elect for an award of up to $10,000 in statutory damages for each infringing work.
The publicity generated from the enforcement campaign has caused some anime fans to react adversely and irrationally, some going to the extent of publishing profanity-laden postings on the internet, and issuing death threats against an Odex director. Some fans have also gone online to speculate on various aspects of the enforcement drive, or to accuse Odex of improper motives, causing the proliferation of untrue information on popular internet forums. For example, some anime fans had speculated that Odex had “done a deal” with the ISPs to obtain their subscriber details. This was later clarified in the press by the ISPs and by Odex, when they told the press that the information had been obtained as a result of court orders.
On the other hand, many other anime fans have responded by coming forward to admit that they have downloaded, and to ask for a settlement of any claims against them, even before receiving any letter from Odex. All downloaders who voluntarily settle in this way will be free from any legal action by Odex or the copyright owners represented by Odex for downloading, unless they subsequently breach their settlement terms by, for example, continuing to download anime illegally. Sure anot, there are people who actually approached them for settlement?
A list of the members of AVPAS and its authorised titles can be found at AVPASÂ’s website, www.avpas.com.sg. For any enquiries, please contact Odex at 6223 3126 / 6226 2128 or at [email protected]. -
If they are that bored to the extent of getting 2000 IP addresses and sending letters out, I would expect them to analyze a sizable portion of these 1000 or so hard disk collected, not just one.Originally posted by Shotgun:I doubt they can get a warrant as well. Unless they have significant amount of evidence against you already. And that would probably include not just IP addresses. They will have to pay for every hard disk they tear apart, and HOPE that forensics MAY be able to reveal hard incriminating evidence.
Chances are, if they want to do that, they will just pick ONE poor bugger to pray apart. Cost of doing it to all 1000 is ridiculous.
Analyzing just one hard disk is NOT acceptable. They will gloat even more, if the hard disk evidence is discriminating enough. The laws will bend to an even worse side, that's a hell no for me.
If things are to reach this stage, I will wish never recommend it at all. -
hmm, even if u delete whatever evidence oso no use. its still inside the hard disk.
unless u microwave it, or low level format? -
* BayTSP's clients don't don't accept incoming connections, only send outgoing ones. I wonder what exactly this is for.
This is pretty interesting, although I guess some are just common sense.
* Some of the BayTSP clients claim to be using Azureus (and support Azureus extensions), while others run libtorrent. I'm not sure why they are doing this
* When BayTSP's clients connect to a BT user, they claim to not have downloaded any of the file, but refuse uploads. Not only does this behavior not make any sense for an actual user, but it seems like BayTSP would want to accept data, which might provide proof of infringement.
* Some of the IP ranges I noticed coming from BayTSP were: 154.37.66.xx, 63.216.76.xx, 216.133.221.xx. Sometimes, they make themselves really obvious on the tracker. For example, 154.37.66.xx and 63.216.76.xx will send 10 clients to the same tracker all claiming to listen on port 12320. Maybe trackers should block these folks
1. Drop incoming connections, send outgoing ones - probably related to what they do.
2. I don't understand... anyway, I'm not a P2P expert.
3. Related to number 1.
4. I would wonder what they are doing with so many IP addresses. Then again, there could be other reasons, but I wouldn't rule out that they are abusing IP addresses much as illegal users do.
Hmm... I think I could fool around with the networks... and see what I can gather. -
Some reports have stated that Odex may earn up to $15 million through compensation payments received from downloaders, on the basis that Odex receives $5,000 from each of 3,000 subscribers. This is again not true. 3,000 IP addresses do not equate to 3,000 different subscribers. Further, Odex does not require all downloaders to pay $5,000 in compensation
Red part - what does he mean? Some families subscribe to more than 1 ISP plan?
Or do I get the hint that IP address is NOT DEFINITIVE, thus they are wrong?
I'm hoping the for the latter! Because I want to drop a hammer on his toe! -
You won't be able to low level format a hard disk, as far as I know of. Hard disk manufacturers prevent you from doing that... for a good reason, because they can damage a hard disk.Originally posted by dumbdumb!:hmm, even if u delete whatever evidence oso no use. its still inside the hard disk.
unless u microwave it, or low level format?
However, a high level format may be used (commonly used before installing an OS).
But even so, it's possible to recover data... because a high level format only replaces certain parts of a hard disk...
The only way is to destroy your hard disk is by disturbing the magnetic fields... once disturbed, the hard disk is gone case. As far as I know of, it's not possible to recover such hard disks that are damaged by magnets.
Any other methods such as pouring acid, hammering it, throw it will not dter tools from recovering it, it just only hampers it. -
It means that 3000 IP addresses is not equivalent to 3000 subscribers as more than 1 subscriber can share the same IP address. Read the part in blue.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Red part - what does he mean? Some families subscribe to more than 1 ISP plan?
Or do I get the hint that IP address is NOT DEFINITIVE, thus they are wrong?
I'm hoping the for the latter! Because I want to drop a hammer on his toe! At present, there are more than 3,000 IP addresses that are the subject of court orders already issued, or of pending applications in court. Some reports have referred to Odex obtaining information relating to 1,000 IP addresses from each ISP. This is inaccurate. None of the ISPs assigns unique IP addresses to their subscribers, and it highly unlikely that 1,000 IP addresses would in fact translate to the identification of 1,000 different subscribers – ie the figure would be much less.
This is not true right? I thought everyone has their own unique IP address. -
i guess it really boils down to if the judges in sg will take the stand that d/l can be proven jsut be the ip addresses and thepacket informetion they got therein. otherwise those who received the letters can just scan their hardisks with magnets and destry the disks they burntOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:You won't be able to low level format a hard disk, as far as I know of. Hard disk manufacturers prevent you from doing that... for a good reason, because they can damage a hard disk.
However, a high level format may be used (commonly used before installing an OS).
But even so, it's possible to recover data... because a high level format only replaces certain parts of a hard disk...
The only way is to destroy your hard disk is by disturbing the magnetic fields... once disturbed, the hard disk is gone case. As far as I know of, it's not possible to recover such hard disks that are damaged by magnets.
Any other methods such as pouring acid, hammering it, throw it will not dter tools from recovering it, it just only hampers it. -
jiao wey la. now they claim the money taken is not even 20% of their enforcement costs. so if its true, why would they have started this fugging shytty catching illegal downloaders? they trying to act as if they are doing it for community work? and if its not extortion, then what for to catch ppl when they act like a dog for the jap co. ? idiotic brains running idiotic co.
farg you till u die. -
hmm i've done low level formatting b4. 3 years ago during my poly attachment. maybe now cannotOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:You won't be able to low level format a hard disk, as far as I know of. Hard disk manufacturers prevent you from doing that... for a good reason, because they can damage a hard disk.
However, a high level format may be used (commonly used before installing an OS).
But even so, it's possible to recover data... because a high level format only replaces certain parts of a hard disk...
The only way is to destroy your hard disk is by disturbing the magnetic fields... once disturbed, the hard disk is gone case. As far as I know of, it's not possible to recover such hard disks that are damaged by magnets.
Any other methods such as pouring acid, hammering it, throw it will not dter tools from recovering it, it just only hampers it. -
You are half right.Originally posted by mamamamama:This is not true right? I thought everyone has their own unique IP address.
However, Singapore uses dynamic IP addressing, rather than static, so he probably meant out of the 3000 IP addresses he has, there will be a few IP addresses that belong to the same person.
But if my explanation is right, it means he has just hit himself. IP addresses are not the definitive answer. Still... it's not a strong case. In fact, it's so weak, it could be thrown out of court, if either side decides to sue.
I guess Stephen Sing knows, that's why there's has been no news on people being sued yet. I may be wrong about this, if I'm wrong, please let me know. -
It's doable... but as far as users are concerned, they are not supposed to do so. Manufacturers have some safeguards to prevent users from doing that. But that won't stop people...Originally posted by dumbdumb!:hmm i've done low level formatting b4. 3 years ago during my poly attachment. maybe now cannot
Low level format has its own uses... as well as abuses. -
If you get the letter,
1. Throw your HDDs.
2. Change your MAC address / network card
3. Buy a wireless router.
Make them prove that you download and not 'someone else' that tapped into your network without you knowing.
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Originally posted by tortoise55:
Look like they reading all over to tailored this letter. Surpise it came from their ever under contruction site. What they trying to prove ? This letter not only exposed they can not explicily identify the person at time by IP. They also pointed software they use does not provide hard evidents. Of course, they have to include the name of AVPAS to make the letter seen more creditable. This letter nothing more than taking a hammer to knock his toe. I suspect their claimed of Japan animes company assign them for this task particularly targeting at Singapore.
Something new from them
http://www.odex.com.sg
ODEX CLARIFICATION ARTICLE
Singapore, 20 August 2007- Singapore anime distributor Odex has commenced action to deal with and contain the state of rampant downloading of unauthorised anime video files on the internet.
To date, Japanese content owners have not made any anime titles legally available for download in Singapore. There are websites offering “free” anime downloads, such as Animesuki, but none of these websites are authorised by the Japanese content owners.
Odex is authorised by the Anti-Video Piracy Association (Singapore) (AVPAS), a non-profit organisation whose members consist primarily of Japanese companies involved in the anime industry, including major companies such as Sunrise Inc., TV Tokyo Medianet Co., Ltd, Gonzo Digimation Holding K.K., Kadokawa Pictures, Inc. and Aniplex Inc., to take all steps necessary to protect and enforce the copyrights subsisting in more than 400 anime titles.
These 400 over authorised titles do not consist only of anime titles that are licensed to Odex. Whether or not and to whom an anime title is licensed for sale in Singapore does not change the fact that they all enjoy copyright protection under Singapore law. Odex was appointed to conduct the present enforcement drive because it is the largest distributor of anime in the region, and it has conducted successful enforcement actions in the past in relation to the sale of pirated anime VCDs and DVDs.
In 2006, Odex engaged a US-based sentry company, BayTSP Inc, to provide Odex with a software solution that would track and record instances of unauthorised downloading of anime titles over the internet. BayTSP has provided similar solutions for companies such as Paramount Pictures and Viacom in its ongoing suit against Google.
Based on searches conducted over a 6-month period from November 2006 to April 2007 on 50 anime titles only using BayTSPÂ’s tracking solution, Odex found that there were more than 400,000 instances of downloading in Singapore. Singapore was found to have the highest level of anime downloading in the world by population.
Upon consultation with the members of AVPAS as well as other affected Japanese content owners, Odex was tasked to organise a major enforcement effort, and represent all the content owners in enforcement action against downloaders in Singapore, under the auspices of AVPAS.
The objective of this enforcement drive is to carry out sustained action that will serve as a wake-up call to anime fans and other internet users in Singapore that downloading is illegal. Many internet users in Singapore download copyright material which is owned by major foreign companies, such as film production studios and television networks in the US and Japan. These companies have so far not taken action in Singapore, not because downloading is legal, but because Singapore has not been a priority for enforcement. This will now change, at least where anime is concerned, in view of the alarming statistics gathered from BayTSPÂ’s data.
From March to May 2007, Odex made applications to court to require the three ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in Singapore to release information identifying subscribers whose accounts had been used to download unauthorised anime videos over the internet. The applications against SingNet and Starhub were granted by the courts, while the application against Pacific Internet is still pending. Such applications are nothing new – ISPs here have routinely been required by court orders to produce information containing subscriber details in order to facilitate the identification of potential defendants in lawsuits involving claims such as defamation and infringement of intellectual property.
At present, there are more than 3,000 IP addresses that are the subject of court orders already issued, or of pending applications in court. Some reports have referred to Odex obtaining information relating to 1,000 IP addresses from each ISP. This is inaccurate. None of the ISPs assigns unique IP addresses to their subscribers, and it highly unlikely that 1,000 IP addresses would in fact translate to the identification of 1,000 different subscribers – ie the figure would be much less.
Once the subscribers were identified, Odex wrote to all of them, to offer them a chance to settle the copyright ownersÂ’ claims against them out of court, before legal action was commenced against them. Many of those who received OdexÂ’s letter have since come forward to admit that they had been engaged in downloading, and have settled the matter.
The average amount of compensation paid by those who have settled is about $3,000 to $5,000. At present, no damages have been claimed, and the copyright owners are only seeking reimbursement for the expenses that Odex has incurred on their behalf in pursuing these enforcement matters, as part of an early settlement before claims are filed in court.
Settlements before action are very common in practice. Far from amounting to extortion, they represent a sensible way of redressing wrongs and grievances, and allowing the parties a way out of unnecessary litigation. Should the copyright ownersÂ’ attempts (through Odex) to amicably resolve matters be rejected by any downloader, then the copyright owners are free to commence legal proceedings against the downloaders to claim all remedies that they are entitled to claim under Singapore law, including damages, an injunction, and legal costs.
Some reports have stated that Odex may earn up to $15 million through compensation payments received from downloaders, on the basis that Odex receives $5,000 from each of 3,000 subscribers. This is again not true. 3,000 IP addresses do not equate to 3,000 different subscribers. Further, Odex does not require all downloaders to pay $5,000 in compensation.
The main factor in deciding the compensation amount for early settlement purposes is the level of downloading carried out by each individual. Bearing in mind that the enforcement drive is still at an initial stage, conscious efforts have been made to keep the amount claimed to a minimum. The amount paid to Odex so far has not covered even 20% of OdexÂ’s enforcement costs incurred to date. Additionally, downloaders who face genuine financial difficulties have been allowed to pay significantly reduced compensation amounts, or to pay in instalments.
There have been reports stating that Odex has charged 10% on compensation sums where the downloader was allowed to pay in instalments. This is not true – Odex has not asked anyone to pay interest on the compensation sums paid.
In the US, companies that have taken legal action against downloaders have typically been awarded hundreds or thousands of dollars in statutory damages for each infringing work downloaded, in addition to recovery of their legal costs and expenses from these downloaders. The Singapore Copyright Act also allows copyright owners to elect for an award of up to $10,000 in statutory damages for each infringing work.
The publicity generated from the enforcement campaign has caused some anime fans to react adversely and irrationally, some going to the extent of publishing profanity-laden postings on the internet, and issuing death threats against an Odex director. Some fans have also gone online to speculate on various aspects of the enforcement drive, or to accuse Odex of improper motives, causing the proliferation of untrue information on popular internet forums. For example, some anime fans had speculated that Odex had “done a deal” with the ISPs to obtain their subscriber details. This was later clarified in the press by the ISPs and by Odex, when they told the press that the information had been obtained as a result of court orders.
[b]On the other hand, many other anime fans have responded by coming forward to admit that they have downloaded, and to ask for a settlement of any claims against them, even before receiving any letter from Odex. All downloaders who voluntarily settle in this way will be free from any legal action by Odex or the copyright owners represented by Odex for downloading, unless they subsequently breach their settlement terms by, for example, continuing to download anime illegally. Sure anot, there are people who actually approached them for settlement?
A list of the members of AVPAS and its authorised titles can be found at AVPASÂ’s website, www.avpas.com.sg. For any enquiries, please contact Odex at 6223 3126 / 6226 2128 or at [email protected].[/b]
Think they in the edge of loosing their lisence title (of course lah, so poor quality and so high price) that they resort to this mean. Clearly they do not understand Japanese way of doing business.
If anyone can prove the software they use not reliable. Than they have no case liao. This letter only expose their ill intention. The more they write, they more they get themself into trouble.
Someone should translate this notice and ask the Japan principle's for commend. -
There's an online team making blocklist of all copyright, adware, spyware, government ip addresses that might intrude your computer. And there's a program to use these blocklist with so these ip addresses in the blocklist cannot access your computer even when using peer2peer. If they cannot connect to you, they cannot catch you lo... Thats y they nid mani range of IP Addresses.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:This is pretty interesting, although I guess some are just common sense.
1. Drop incoming connections, send outgoing ones - probably related to what they do.
2. I don't understand... anyway, I'm not a P2P expert.
3. Related to number 1.
4. I would wonder what they are doing with so many IP addresses. Then again, there could be other reasons, but I wouldn't rule out that they are abusing IP addresses much as illegal users do.
Hmm... I think I could fool around with the networks... and see what I can gather.
But quite funni, they spend $ to buy ip address, domain and stuff, while all people have to do is the click click and add in the new ip address being discovered to their ip blocklist to block them and its free.
But its not foolproof lah, coz we never know when they add new ip address, so if they do, it be unsafe for a while under ppl found out about it.