Singapore cracks down on anime piracy
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thanks LazerLordz for your insightful analysis on the issue. impressive.
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Haha, most of the thanks should go to the bloggers who contribute at Tomorrow.Sg, because most of my information is adapted from their research.Originally posted by Gordonator:thanks LazerLordz for your insightful analysis on the issue. impressive.
I'm not a die-hard manga/anime fan, but when something like this happens, people oughta have as much information as they can.
http://tomorrow.sg/archives/2007/06/01/anime_funsub_dl-ers_gg.html
and the original blog which discussed this issue on Tomorrow.sg..
http://www.darkmirage.com/2007/05/30/apocalypse-now/
I recommend everyone read these links.
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I read the blog yesterday already
it appears that, singtel, never protect their customers at all,
GG -
Because we do not have a Data Protection Act.Originally posted by allentyb:I read the blog,
it appears that, singtel, never protect their customers at all,
GG
It's something I've been quite irked for a while now..a few people I know may be getting together soon to propose a Bill and send it to one of our MPs and lobby him to raise it in Parliament.
It is very important.Without it, we have no proper channels dealing with the handling of private information and what actions have to be taken before such information may be divulged and given out. -
well, you can try to get one of these guys elected...
http://singapore.gnu.googlepages.com/press -
Thanks for the link.Originally posted by sooqing:well, you can try to get one of these guys elected...
http://singapore.gnu.googlepages.com/press
Will explore further on this issue, since they share a similar sentiment and opinion on this matter. -
I have been following closely to this.
And from what i see its still very safe to dl from ddl and xdcc.
But not so sure about the future.
Cuz Odex claim that gahmen wants to stop ALL fansub downloading by this year. -
I talked to Odex
A couple of days ago, I spent the afternoon with a good friend visiting Odex, because I heard they were having a ‘focus group discussion’, and nothing turns me on more than a focus group discussion. By the way, if you do not know what Odex is, Odex Pte Ltd is a company that fights animation piracy and gets genuine titles from Japan, as well as fend off frenzied attacks from robotic hunter-seeker dogs built by massively-downloading military scientists.
Odex had expected about 4-5 bodies to turn up, but the actual number came up to about 10-15, which shows that my country is very passionate about keeping their entertainment free. It also turns out that Odex was looking to engage the representatives of the various clubs for their perspective, to find out exactly what they want from Odex. Two local universities and several polytechnics were represented, but there was no one from the junior colleges (must have been too busy studying or having sex in the classrooms). It seems that many faceless members of the online community have a negative perception of Odex, because downloading is free.
The Odex people, I am pleased to say, are very agreeable for people of my homeland, and I was pleased about that. I do not see any need to post about the specifics of the little discussion (that ran up to about 3 hours), or talk about why Odex is good or bad, but here is a brief breakdown of what was talked about:
Odex will cut their prices again. MiddlemenÂ’s cut and production-distribution costs ensure that prices must stay at a minimum, however.
Odex will produce higher quality products which will look nicer than before.
Odex wants to start a membership service, targeted at students but may/will extend to anyone. It will provide some sort of exclusivity in some way that I cannot confirm, but, yeah.
Now this is interesting: The government wants to clamp down on animation downloads effectiveÂ… this year. Happy New Year. The figures passed down stated that my beloved motherland has 230,000 animation downloaders. We are the top in the world by population percentage, at, uh, 5%? Canada only has 20,000 more households, and yet they have a lot more maple trees than us.
Odex underlined that this sounded like a serious effort on the part of the authorities, who are sick of catching little mama-shops selling pirated batteries. Japanese animation presents a fine opportunity to round up more bodies because there are few legalities to work with (Odex holds most of the licenses for titles in my motherland). They have spoken with the authorities, and I quote, the police have ‘techniques to handle certain things’.
On the other hand, I quote again, ‘it’s not going to look good if the students are caught’. It will not be nice if the local No. 1 tabloid has a 15-page exclusive on 16-year-olds jumping off 20-storey buildings in an attempt to shake off hardened plainclothes raiders. So Odex, in a nice way, is giving us a heads up and telling us to stay down.
Odex wants ‘community involvement’. Odex says that it’s made up of fans just like you and me, and naturally our interests are the same. But at the end of the day, they have to take in the ‘arm-twisting’ from the authorities (i like my Media Developed, Ah?), especially when it involves censorship and television broadcasts.
In the past, any show that is rejected by the censorship board will be thrown back for editing before being put up again, until it finally clears. Now, the new rule states that there is to be no cutting whatsoever. This means if something does not meet the boardÂ’s fickle requirements, it is permanently banned. It also seems that the censorship board is made up of 40/50-year-olds who want to keep decency and hygiene a big part of our lifestyles, which explains why Girls Bravo Season 2 is banned in my hometown.
Still, Odex does not want my country to end up as a ‘barren’ wasteland for animation. They want it to be a nice place for everyone. But it is difficult to even do something new and useful when they are struggling to keep the line in check. I was regaled by tales of rogue competitors who use underhand means to get their sale volumes. Odex says they are willing to listen to the local community for advice and suggestions, so that at the end of the day, they can create products that our community can be proud of.
So these are the facts; at least, the facts from my perspective. So what is my own opinion of this new development?
It would be nice to write that I am too embarassed to write that I don’t care, but I’m not ashamed at all. I take my typical motherland attitude of giving a shit. Not that I’m aggressively refusing to feel involved or anything, but I’ve simply stopped watching animation for quite a while. These little 2-dimensional Japanese shows have degraded into rehashed formulas recycling the same ideas over and over again. It has gone to the point where I look at the screenshots and go, ‘Fuck, not another maid’.
On the other hand, manga and novels, and games introduce the element of reading. Reading is good. George Bush, President of the United States of God Bless America, knows that reading is good. Not only do these have more interesting and creative plots and concepts, they keep my Japanese conditioned. And novels and games always have nicer illustrations. Games have voices! And event CGs! And scene playbacks! So as you can see, the role that animation used to fulfil is quickly replaced by other more viable solutions. To me, the loss of the animation industry is no issue because people who make doujin will make doujin. The doujin group is not only more creative and varied, it is also less dependent on animation for its survival.
In any case, itÂ’s not wise to crack down on downloading. Downloading is not the problem. The problem is that there is no viable avenue for fans to spend their money on. We need ways for fans to pour their money back into the industry that involve more than just buying animation. Let them buy figurines! Let them eat Naruto ramen! We can snuggle up to Yume bolster cases at night!
But well, it is nice that a distributor is finally engaging the community after so many years of netbitching. It just makes me wonder why nobody has done this earlier.
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I have read all 280+ comments from darkmirage blog.
So feel free to ask questions on this.
I think i am prepared. Heh. -
firstly, why not just make a web where people can download the actual anime's for a price? even 50cent per episode will make ODEX rich..
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Why didn't I think of this earlier...?
The internet is a vast place... there should be at least 1 website that legally distribute anime... all we need is to find it...
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So what do u exactly mean by website that legally distribute anime?Originally posted by MohamedF:Why didn't I think of this earlier...?
The internet is a vast place... there should be at least 1 website that legally distribute anime... all we need is to find it... -
As long as its fansub its not legal.Originally posted by MohamedF:Why didn't I think of this earlier...?
The internet is a vast place... there should be at least 1 website that legally distribute anime... all we need is to find it...
Even say you pay a small sum of money to dl it. Its still considered illegal.
One way is to subscribe to jap TV. Which is uber lame.
Cuz you cant watch the series you want anytime. Not sure if you can record it though.
Your best bet is direct dl and xdcc now.
Cause AVPAS obtains infringement evidences from a third party monitoring service. The ISPs themselves are not involved.
Therefore, XDCC and DDL are safe because it is not possible for a third party to monitor them. Only the ISPs are able to do that and they have no incentives to do so.
BitTorrent is vulnerable because anybody can scrape a tracker and get all the IP addresses currently connected to it.
I was pretty troubled by this at first. But after reading. I dont really care now.
There are many grey areas in odex. One good example was that one HWZ member recieved the letter. And then after recieving it. Odex called that guy and wanted to settle it out of court. And they just wanted the guy to pay 3.5k.
I have no idea why. But its funny that they wanted to settle this outside of court. When they can rip more then just 3.5k off that guy. There MUST be some grey areas within odex. And from what its funny that odex manage to get our IP through singtel. Read the first 50post in darkmirage blog and you will know why.
My main concern now is that, how closely connected is Odex/AVPAS with the gahmen. -
forget it... there arn't any...Originally posted by furb:So what do u exactly mean by website that legally distribute anime?
I was hoping for a website that you can download anime legally from... like iTune stores... -
Yea if you were talking about that, there isn't...Originally posted by MohamedF:forget it... there arn't any...
I was hoping for a website that you can download anime legally from... like iTune stores...
maybe there will be one soon after this incident, but I doubt it. -
Impossible.Originally posted by MohamedF:forget it... there arn't any...
I was hoping for a website that you can download anime legally from... like iTune stores... -
Instead of all these, why don't concerned parties take up the issue of the legality of AVPAS to exist as an independant reporting entity in the first place.
The conflict of interest issue here is big. Problem with most Singaporeans is that they don't know how to challenge and be confrontational.
To send a letter and settle for 3.5k is calling someone's bluff.
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There are whole list of anime found on AVPAS Authorized Titles (I assume it means the current animes licensed in Singapore) which I don't even find them anywhere in the Singapore Market... Are they putting it up the list for fun or what?
http://www.avpas.com.sg/AVPAS_Authorized.html -
Double posted
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The avpas is somewhat connected to the jap anime publisher now.Originally posted by furb:There are whole list of anime found on AVPAS Authorized Titles (I assume it means the current animes licensed in Singapore) which I don't even find them anywhere in the Singapore Market... Are they putting it up the list for fun or what?
http://www.avpas.com.sg/AVPAS_Authorized.html
So the list you see is merely what the jap authorise.
AVPAS clearly does not have enough cash to copyright all the anime titles in the list there.
Still the list is still in working effect. -
Why are some of the members of ODEX also in AVPAS? Which came first? ODEX or AVPAS? When will ODEX have their new website up and ready?Originally posted by Xephone_xenon:The avpas is somewhat connected to the jap anime publisher now.
So the list you see is merely what the jap authorise.
AVPAS clearly does not have enough cash to copyright all the anime titles in the list there.
Still the list is still in working effect. -
CoolMyth has a point, all you otakus should focus on this issue.Originally posted by CoolMyth:Why are some of the members of ODEX also in AVPAS? Which came first? ODEX or AVPAS? When will ODEX have their new website up and ready? -
So focus on what? Odex come first or AVPA?Originally posted by LazerLordz:CoolMyth has a point, all you otakus should focus on this issue.
Even if we know which come first, what can we do about it. I don't see the point as in they are already taking actions about this. -
It's not which came first, it's challenging the legality of AVPAS's actions due to the fact that there is a conflict of interest where ODEX's employees sit on AVPAS' Board of Directors.Originally posted by furb:So focus on what? Odex come first or AVPA?
Even if we know which come first, what can we do about it. I don't see the point as in they are already taking actions about this.
That and the fact that they act as an independant entity when there is a lack of separation of powers. -
Somebody in darkmirage blog already say this.Originally posted by CoolMyth:Why are some of the members of ODEX also in AVPAS? Which came first? ODEX or AVPAS? When will ODEX have their new website up and ready?
Yep and its true. Its the same thing, for whatever reason. I dunnoe.
Proof here.
Looks at adress
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Well, I think everyone by now have a rough idea on that, but the question is who will be the first one dare to stand up and challenge AVPAS actions?Originally posted by LazerLordz:It's not which came first, it's challenging the legality of AVPAS's actions due to the fact that there is a conflict of interest where ODEX's employees sit on AVPAS' Board of Directors.
That and the fact that they act as an independant entity when there is a lack of separation of powers.
I doubt anyone would, as relucant to say it but sadly, everyone knows that 'majority' (by saying majority it already quite giving 'face') of the Singaporean only know how to be computer heros... Take a look, it been how many days since this incident happens and till now no one really point this out to the public (public =/= internet).
What about me? Sad to say I'm less than 20 and I don't know much about politics, law and stuffs, so that makes me a computer hero too. Though I'm now trying to pick up and learn some.