Poll : Odex
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Odex says it is not going after illegal downloaders for profit
Odex had already sent out 300 letters as per the news today. Would you challenge Odex in court or pay up? Why? Below is a simple poll. If you have other reasons not in poll, pls drop a note in the thread.
By Foo Siew Shyan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 30 August 2007 2211 hrs
SINGAPORE: Anime distributor Odex has defended its action against illegal downloaders as a form of enforcement against piracy rather than for profit.
Rumour has it that the company earned some S$15 million by taking action against illegal downloads.
Computer users, most of them teens, have been pilfering anime titles from the Web.
In fact, one report even ranked Singapore number one in the world, when it comes to illegal anime downloads per capita.
Odex has uncovered close to 500,000 cases of illegal downloading so far.
To further prove its point, Odex has roped in about 30 Japanese copyright holders who have said they will support Odex in its legal move.
That move saw Odex going to court to force SingNet and StarHub to release the names of its subscribers who have illegally downloaded its cartoons.
The result - a backlash against Odex.
Some people have accused the company of sending 1,000 warning letters, each supposedly called for the identified subscriber to pay between S$3,000 and S$5,000 in fines.
But at a news conference on Thursday, Odex said that there was no fine involved. It said 300 letters were sent out.
About a third of the recipients settled with Odex for an undisclosed sum. The rest are being mediated.
The company claimed that any excess money from the move, after deducting costs, will be donated to a charitable cause.
Odex added that no one was forced to pay beyond his/her means.
"This exercise was never meant to be just an enforcement. It's not a profiteering mission to get as much money from everybody. It was conceptualized with a very big picture (in mind).
"Illegal downloaders can download animes for all they want... five years, ten years, there will be nothing left to download. This is the fear that most strikes us. We want to address that situation," said Stephen Sing, director of Odex Pte Ltd.
That's why Odex still plans to continue what it calls its enforcement process. Its target - an 80 or 90 percent reduction in illegal downloads.
That seems like quite a stretch, since the company has seen only a 17% drop in illegal downloads this month.
More importantly, Odex may not have the right to pursue its so-called enforcement after all.
Despite the company's success against SingTel and StarHub, a judge has ruled that Pacific Internet does not have to give up the names of its subscribers who have been accused of illegally downloading anime.
This is because the court found that Odex is just a sub-licensee and not the copyright owner or exclusive licensee for most of the anime titles sold in Singapore.
Odex says it will launch an appeal to reverse the latest court ruling. - CNA/ir
Poll Now -
sorry. pls poll again. thanks
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I refuse to do your poll because there is no option for me.
I can't find a "No, because their products are inferior to fansubs anyway. I'd rather go to court."
and FI is biased!! she closed my odex topic and never closed yours! She even redirect my thread to some club otaku forum that i never even heard of! Where's the justice?!
Argh! BIASED FI! -
excess money from compensation going to charities?
and what was that about the money we have recovered is not even enough for our legal costs?
it stinks around here.
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Originally posted by Vigelic:I refuse to do your poll because there is no option for me.
I can't find a "No, because their products are inferior to fansubs anyway. I'd rather go to court."
and FI is biased!! she closed my odex topic and never closed yours! She even redirect my thread to some club otaku forum that i never even heard of! Where's the justice?!
Argh! BIASED FI! well my question was after receiving the letter, will you fight them in court?. basically, 105 of the 300 that have given in
1. kaisee mentality - because of various reason such as troublesome, more time & money involved in the case.
2. kiasu - sure lose mentality - afterall a law was broken and the other "anime owners" offering to stand behind Odex
3. majority all kids or young adults with little or no knowledge in the laws -
I dont download anime, but i think to the 1/3 who decided to settle with Odex without consulting a lawyer before hand is stupid. Real stupid.
It's common sense you consult a lawyer, and not agree to settle just because someone threatens legal action against you, EVEN if you SEEM to be in the wrong. After all, in the eyes of the law, justice is defined very differently from the dictionary. -
odex can bring u to court but REMEMBER odex is nt the authority or police.Originally posted by Where Is God:I dont download anime, but i think to the 1/3 who decided to settle with Odex without consulting a lawyer before hand is stupid. Real stupid.
It's common sense you consult a lawyer, and not agree to settle just because someone threatens legal action against you, EVEN if you SEEM to be in the wrong. After all, in the eyes of the law, justice is defined very differently from the dictionary. -
cont in existing thread.