Thursday, September 20, 2007
10:20 by FoxTwo
HAH! Finally.
They shoulda done that in the first place. Then, Odex would have avoided all the online hate-campaign. Their reputation would still be largely intact (including the famed/infamous low-quality VCD releases).
And, if the initial warnings are ignored, and then Odex decides to send those demand letters (aka "Odex Letters"), I bet nobody would even raise a ruckus.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. At least they learnt. A little too late, but they learnt.
Now, all they gotta do is buck up on their QC.
Oh by the way... I'm not even an anime fan, much less an "Otaku". I don't even watch cartoons. I'm only following the Odex Saga simply because it touches on some "modern crimes" that the Singapore Law is desperately trying to catch up on. These new laws on cybercrimes are largely untested in court, and thus far, merely academic.
However I do sympathise with those who got the Odex Letter in the first and second salvo back in May and August though...
Just to clarify - downloading files via Bittorrent is NOT ILLEGAL. However, downloading files that are clearly copyrighted (ie you do not own the rights) is definitely illegal. Use your common sense. If you see "Ocean's 11" for download on Bittorrent, what are the chances that it's copyrighted and hence, illegal to download? If you go ahead and continue to download it, then you deserve to get sued.
However, files that are clearly marked as Open/Free etc are legal to be downloaded via Bittorrent. For example, Linux distributions, Openoffice, and even MMORPG games such as Anarchy Online are legal. They have elected to use Bittorrent as one of their distribution channels. For sure, game demos are definitely LEGAL. After all, the developers of these games would like you to get the demo and hope you like it enough to splash some money on the full product, no?
10:20 by FoxTwo
Odex to get ISPs to issue online warnings
HAH! Finally.
They shoulda done that in the first place. Then, Odex would have avoided all the online hate-campaign. Their reputation would still be largely intact (including the famed/infamous low-quality VCD releases).
And, if the initial warnings are ignored, and then Odex decides to send those demand letters (aka "Odex Letters"), I bet nobody would even raise a ruckus.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. At least they learnt. A little too late, but they learnt.
Now, all they gotta do is buck up on their QC.
Oh by the way... I'm not even an anime fan, much less an "Otaku". I don't even watch cartoons. I'm only following the Odex Saga simply because it touches on some "modern crimes" that the Singapore Law is desperately trying to catch up on. These new laws on cybercrimes are largely untested in court, and thus far, merely academic.
However I do sympathise with those who got the Odex Letter in the first and second salvo back in May and August though...
Just to clarify - downloading files via Bittorrent is NOT ILLEGAL. However, downloading files that are clearly copyrighted (ie you do not own the rights) is definitely illegal. Use your common sense. If you see "Ocean's 11" for download on Bittorrent, what are the chances that it's copyrighted and hence, illegal to download? If you go ahead and continue to download it, then you deserve to get sued.
However, files that are clearly marked as Open/Free etc are legal to be downloaded via Bittorrent. For example, Linux distributions, Openoffice, and even MMORPG games such as Anarchy Online are legal. They have elected to use Bittorrent as one of their distribution channels. For sure, game demos are definitely LEGAL. After all, the developers of these games would like you to get the demo and hope you like it enough to splash some money on the full product, no?
Tags:
Labels: anime, bittorrent, movies, Odex
Friday, August 31, 2007
21:25 by FoxTwo The Odex incident is still ongoing, and I'm surprised it's still alive and kicking. Well, maybe not very surprised, since it involves downloading and bittorrent and kids.
I read this article here in Xedodefense.org, and found it interesting. You should to, and decide whether Odex is aboveboard, or sneaky.
Personally, I sympathise with those who got "Odex-ed", ie the dreaded letters. While I am not saying they weren't wrong to download anime, I sympathise with how they must feel, and dare I say, traumatised by a corporate entity. Can you imagine your own 9 or 10 yr old kid, suddenly served with this letter saying "You are a naughty person. We caught you and you're going to jail! We won't haul you off to jail if you pay us S$3,000!"
Even an adult receiving this kinda letter will be shaken up, let alone the kids.
In a sense, I'm both proud and ashamed to be a Singaporean. Proud, that Singaporeans can actually band together and fight a perceived common threat (Xedodefense.org as an example). Ashamed, because of the behaviour of a Singapore company who thinks that with the law on its side, they can step all over the "little people".
The Copyright law, in spirit, protects the rights owner from large-scale piracy of their Intellectual Property. It serves to protect and offer an avenue of recourse for a rights-owner to seek redress for infringments.
Here, the company is using it to frighten kids into giving them money. When this story ended up on Digg.com, many people there commented that this looks like "extortion". I'm inclined to agree.
Me? I'm sitting on the sidelines and rooting for the underdogs - the anime crowd in Singapore. I hope they put Odex in its place. Show the big bad corporate entity that Singaporeans aren't so easily cowed by threats of legal action.
21:25 by FoxTwo The Odex incident is still ongoing, and I'm surprised it's still alive and kicking. Well, maybe not very surprised, since it involves downloading and bittorrent and kids.
I read this article here in Xedodefense.org, and found it interesting. You should to, and decide whether Odex is aboveboard, or sneaky.
Personally, I sympathise with those who got "Odex-ed", ie the dreaded letters. While I am not saying they weren't wrong to download anime, I sympathise with how they must feel, and dare I say, traumatised by a corporate entity. Can you imagine your own 9 or 10 yr old kid, suddenly served with this letter saying "You are a naughty person. We caught you and you're going to jail! We won't haul you off to jail if you pay us S$3,000!"
Even an adult receiving this kinda letter will be shaken up, let alone the kids.
In a sense, I'm both proud and ashamed to be a Singaporean. Proud, that Singaporeans can actually band together and fight a perceived common threat (Xedodefense.org as an example). Ashamed, because of the behaviour of a Singapore company who thinks that with the law on its side, they can step all over the "little people".
The Copyright law, in spirit, protects the rights owner from large-scale piracy of their Intellectual Property. It serves to protect and offer an avenue of recourse for a rights-owner to seek redress for infringments.
Here, the company is using it to frighten kids into giving them money. When this story ended up on Digg.com, many people there commented that this looks like "extortion". I'm inclined to agree.
Me? I'm sitting on the sidelines and rooting for the underdogs - the anime crowd in Singapore. I hope they put Odex in its place. Show the big bad corporate entity that Singaporeans aren't so easily cowed by threats of legal action.
Technorati:
Labels: anime, bittorrent, Odex
