ANIME distributer Odex has lost a court bid to force Pacific Internet to reveal names of subscribers who allegedly downloaded pirated versions of the Japanese cartoons.

The Subordinate Court handed down its decision in chambers on Thursday and no details were made public.

Pacific Internet (PacNet), which opposed the Odex action, would only say that it ‘respects the rights of intellectual property owners and at the same time, also believes in protecting the privacy of all our subscribers’.

The Straits Times understands one reason for District Judge Ernest Lau’s decision is that he believes Odex was not the right party to make the application, despite having the go-ahead to prosecute on the behalf of the Japanese anime studios.

Odex is demanding the names of up to 1000 PacNet downloaders.

A company spokesman said it will consult the rights owners before making its next move but it was likely to appeal. It has 14 days to do so.

The ruling on Thursday came as a surprise given that Odex had successfully obtained Court orders to get SingNet and StarHub to reveal names of their downloaders.

Different judges ruled on those cases, and both internet service providers declined to say what arguments they presented in court.

In light of the PacNet decision, a StarHub spokesman said on Thursday that it’s ‘assessing our options …given the different decisions rendered by the court’.

But the deadline for lodging an appeal has expired for StarHub and SingTel.

Source: Odex saga: PacNet does not have to reveal names

Court Order: Starhub Must Give Names Of Illegal Anime Downloaders

By Chua Hian Hou

The Singapore distributor of Japanese animated cartoons called anime has won the right to track down fans who download the programmes illegally using Starhub internet accounts.

A subordinate court has ordered the Telco to disclose the identity of about 1,000 of its subscribers accused of illegally downloading anime.

It is believed to be one of the largest crackdowns illegal Internet downloading by home users in Singapore.

The recent hearing was held in closed chamber session, so few details of the case are available publicly. The action was taken by local anime distributor ODEX.

Starhub had initially resisted the companys efforts to get its customer data, said a spokesman for Telco, as it had “an obligation to protect our customer’ information”. But it now has no choice but to comply with the court order, as ODEX had œsatisfied the court of its need for the information.

Once ODEX obtains the identities of these Internet users from Starhub , it is expected to write to them demanding a settlement of up to $5,000 and a promise to stop further illegal downloading.

In May, ODEX went after 17 Singnet subscribers after obtaining a similar court order. It then sent more letters to an undisclosed number of other Singnet subscribers also accused of illegally downloading anime.

Odex Director Peter GO said a few infringers with financial difficulties were allowed to settle for about $1000. He added that a number of those who had received the letter had engaged lawyers, BUT DID NOT CONTEST ODEX’S CASE.

Having suceeded in getting SingNet and Starhub customer lists, ODEX will now go after customers of another internet service provider, Pacific Internet, in the subordinate courts later this week. It is understood ODEX has accused about 1,000 PacNet users of illegal downloading.

PacNet spokeman Bernard Ho, said the firm was “resisting the application” made by ODEX in court.

However, lawyers familiar with such applications say they have STRONG track record of sucess. But infromation obtained this way is not always useful to the plaintiff. For instance, the user may no longer be in the country.

Popular with both children and adults, the anime industry was worth as much as US$5 Billion ($7.5billion) world wide according to 2004 Business Week report. However, illegal downloads, available online since the late 1990s, have cut deeply into the profits of producers and distributers.

Mr Peter GO said the South Korean anime market, once the world’s second largest after Japan, collapsed several years ago due to piracy problems.

This prompted Japanese studios making anime to band together to mount the crackdown here as they were worried Singapore, although not big a market, would end up the same way.

A 23 year old anime fan acknowledged that there some truth to Mr GO’S words. “At my peak a while ago, I used to download 5 to 10 gigabytes of anime a week, ” said the undergraduate, who declined to be named. Now, he is resigned that his past will catch up with him.

Source: mr_voodoo of Hardware Zone Forums

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