Odex POV - Which i think is.....

Ok, after the lengthy post down below, let us continue with this. Odex POV article.

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 BayTSP’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 BayTSP’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 owners’ claims against them out of court, before legal action was commenced against them. Many of those who received Odex’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 owners’ 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 Odex’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.

Ok... This is their what i think is a 1-sided article from them. However, those who do not support Odex also raise their one sided comments hehe... so I guess its alright... Now, this is a private article that one of the blogger recorded when he meet Peter Go. One of the director of Odex....

Despite the terribly irresistible pun of a title, this article aims to bring to light what Odex, at least officially, aims to achieve. This is the story from their Point of View.

I repeat, it’s their story, I have fabricated or modified nothing.

I met Peter Go, director of Odex, at about 9 pm, on a weekday. We went to a certain 24hour prata store, where he ordered a couple of drinks. Armed with a large notepad and a pen, a relic of my days as an army journalist, I listened attentively as Peter talked endlessly about his company, how fansubs were destroying the anime industry and what Odex was doing to counter the situation. It is obvious Peter is an anime fan - he has seen far more than most of you have. Except that for him, anime isn’t just a hobby, it’s his livelihood.

As anyone who has turned their hobby into a full-job would know, it is not easy to balance love and money. I would know, I worked in a figure store, where I had to sell people bad figures at high prices, despite them being fellow figure fans. I quit within a month. Even the esteemed RJC blogger, Darkmirage, told Peter Go to just fold his company, for anime is not the most lucrative of businesses and should be left as a hobby. But Odex still stands. Perhaps it could be seen as a testament to the strength of their love for anime. Or perhaps it’s just for money. While we won’t truly know, due to their secretive nature, I would like to share some of what I heard from him.

The central belief Peter holds is that an anime fan is one who gives back as much as he takes from the anime industry. That is the hallmark of a true fan. In other words, a free-loading downloader is not an anime fan. Animators in Japan slog for peanuts, because of their love for anime, bringing us the shows we enjoy. Watching it legally on TV in Japan and even here helps them, for it increases ad revenue. Buying DVDs, merchandise and others also help them. But downloading for free does not return anything to the industry and this is a form of theft, according to Peter. He has visited almost all the anime studios in Japan and is on close terms with the directors of a few like Sunrise (explains why ALL Sunrise anime are on the AVPAS list). He recalled that he wept when he first saw the working conditions of the animators, such was the harshness.

If you have lots of love for anime, channel it in the right places, Peter exclaimed. The days of fansubs being promotion material are long gone. Nowadays, they are more harm than good, people are not buying DVDs because they already have obtained the shows via illegal downloads. Peter believes he is a far greater anime fan than all the freeloaders because of what he has done for the local scene, and truth be told, he may be right. There is now a huge amount of anime shown on TV, many casual fans buy VCDs of anime legally and all these can be attributed to Odex obtaining the rights to these anime. Just a few years back, it was not possible to purchase such a wide variety of anime titles from retail stores. While there was anime on TV, it wasn’t shown in such great numbers.

The huge rise in anime popularity is noticeable in our daily lives. Even the least likely of people have watched anime. There’s this sweet statistics girl, who looks more attuned to the likes of studying than that of Inuyasha, but she is a fan of the latter. Almost all the guys watch anime. But the problem is, such popularity is not being reflected proportionately in terms of revenue collected by both the distributors and the studios. For that, Peter blames the downloads. Downloaders do not contribute to the economy of the anime industry, he stressed.

So what is Odex’s ultimate aim in stamping out the culture of downloading anime?

Peter wanted to keep this a secret, because he felt nobody would believe him, such is how seemingly impossible it sounds. But here it goes. He wants to see a unique Singaporean anime culture, one which is totally free of piracy, illegal downloads and 100 percent friendly to the Japanese studios. Most other countries cannot achieve this because of their geographical dispersion and lack of strong policing, but Singapore being so tiny and manageable, is a unique country able to attain this culture. So what happens when an entire nation is free of piracy and supports legal purchases of anime?

The Japanese studios would cease to think of Singapore as a small market and would reward us accordingly. Now that anime is so widespread, with the resulting high demand for legal goods, there would be much economies of scale and a subsequent lowering of prices. If Singapore is a big market, Singaporeans would have much clout with the Japanese studios and we will soon start seeing special Singapore-only extras in anime, or even more Singaporean anime characters and settings. Not only those, we can start demanding for same-time releases of DVDs and airtime of episodes, and invite high profile staff and seiyuu down here. In a capitalist economy, money talks and if everyone got their anime via legal means, Singapore would be ahead of the other countries in terms of attractiveness to the Japanese studios.

Beyond all those, the localised anime culture would also support cosplay, arts, music and other aspects of anime fandom. If these are of a high enough standard, Peter even wishes to have them included as DVD extras in his products, for a local touch.

But of course, to achieve such an anime utopia would require the co-operation of both the anime-loving masses and the licensing company. It does seem like an impossible dream, what with the high-handed approach Odex is taking, and the juvenile cyber-terrorism undertaken by the online masses.

The dream does sound good, and it did bring a smile to my face as I heard it. Imagine the possibilities, like a female Gundam heroine who shouts, "Wah lau eh!" when her Merlion Gundam explodes! Hirano Aya coming to Singapore and performing in the indoor stadium! Anime DVDs of great quality for less than ten dollars! Watching the latest anime episodes on TV or VoD at the same time of Japanese releases, while the silly Americans struggle with their week-old fansubs! Sounds great right? But all that, apparently according to Peter, is dependant on whether we can generate that critical mass of anime demand needed for Japanese studios to take notice and care of us. And to do that, fansub downloads need to be eradicated.

So there you have it, it’s the vision of Odex. So what say you now?

My Cents:

Wow wow wow.... I really have to comment on this particular article as above. Lets break the above article into parts and view my comment on it.

I listened attentively as Peter talked endlessly about his company, how fansubs were destroying the anime industry and what Odex was doing to counter the situation. It is obvious Peter is an anime fan - he has seen far more than most of you have. Except that for him, anime isn’t just a hobby, it’s his livelihood.

Well, fansubs do not 'DESTROY' the anime industry. Instead it bring in new market point for the anime industry. Look at America. Can you tell me how in the world ANIME get into this super distance foreign country if no one in their country. Well for the very least, i agree that Peter might have seen more anime than us as he works in the anime industry. But from here, I suspect people inside Odex just keep the anime for themselves. Look at their lengthy release date for each of their anime works. Thou they might say its because of MDA hence they need to make sure that everything is in order before they can pass it for grading by MDA hence the date. But but.. its not as if you are drawing new things into the anime you are just cutting out the anime how in the world do you take so long for it??

The central belief Peter holds is that an anime fan is one who gives back as much as he takes from the anime industry. That is the hallmark of a true fan. In other words, a free-loading downloader is not an anime fan. Animators in Japan slog for peanuts, because of their love for anime, bringing us the shows we enjoy. Watching it legally on TV in Japan and even here helps them, for it increases ad revenue. Buying DVDs, merchandise and others also help them.

Well, i feel that he is the person who say one thing but does the other. Look at his comment here and what Odex is doing now. Even if the downloader have the original copies they still got fined etc. Even if the downloader buy dozens of figures in support of the anime they still got fine. This is kill all rather than give chance tactic and in the end this deter all true fans/ going to be fans from getting into anime. So what does this do? Give back to the anime industry? Don't make me laugh. What Odex is doing is just killing off the already small industry in Singapore rather than promoting.

Peter believes he is a far greater anime fan than all the freeloaders because of what he has done for the local scene, and truth be told, he may be right. There is now a huge amount of anime shown on TV, many casual fans buy VCDs of anime legally and all these can be attributed to Odex obtaining the rights to these anime. Just a few years back, it was not possible to purchase such a wide variety of anime titles from retail stores. While there was anime on TV, it wasn’t shown in such great numbers.

Actually, a few years back I'm sure that there are more DVDs/Vcds of anime genre around. Still rem. that everytime i went to IMM i will always go to the vcd/dvd shop to look at anime should there be a one that I find the 'COVER'/'CASING' nice i would buy it. But look at what Odex came out with. First time i saw those casing i thought it was a bootlegged. and further preview from comic connection show the quality of the vcd as ......... *insert your own imagination here* As for a huge amount of anime shown on TV, well i think i can count all the anime shown on channel 8 or central with 20 fingers or even less than that. If you are talking about animax, then thats a whole new story. （＾▽＾笑）

Almost all the guys watch anime. But the problem is, such popularity is not being reflected proportionately in terms of revenue collected by both the distributors and the studios. For that, Peter blames the downloads. Downloaders do not contribute to the economy of the anime industry, he stressed.

I feel that he is referring to ODEX sale/revenue. Well, we all know why Odex don't make much money but anime fans will buy stuffs related to the anime that they like if they have the money. Furthermore, I really do not think that they have make any effort to promote or to survey overseas market.

But here it goes. He wants to see a unique Singaporean anime culture, one which is totally free of piracy, illegal downloads and 100 percent friendly to the Japanese studios. Most other countries cannot achieve this because of their geographical dispersion and lack of strong policing, but Singapore being so tiny and manageable, is a unique country able to attain this culture.

Yeah, basically to say that this place is a cage? There's no such thing as free of piracy! Ok. Even should this this place be 100 percent free of illegal anime downloads how many people *think in future tense* do you think will get to know anime going by the way that Odex is doing its non-existing promoting now? How the **** is this FRIENDLY to the studios/animator in japan?

The Japanese studios would cease to think of Singapore as a small market and would reward us accordingly. Now that anime is so widespread, with the resulting high demand for legal goods, there would be much economies of scale and a subsequent lowering of prices. If Singapore is a big market, Singaporeans would have much clout with the Japanese studios and we will soon start seeing special Singapore-only extras in anime, or even more Singaporean anime characters and settings.

Japanese studio will always think of Singapore as a small market no matter what he says. If they do not think that Singapore is a small market, there will be Bandai Singapore in charge of bringing/licensing bandai anime and releasing it in Singapore. Rather than a 'ONLY' company who take pride in it being the only company in this region who subbed/dubbed anime. But let say that there are more company releasing anime should there be no illegal download. Now who do you think will buy the DVD when not even a single soul know what 'thing' is it about.

Not only those, we can start demanding for same-time releases of DVDs and airtime of episodes, and invite high profile staff and seiyuu down here. In a capitalist economy, money talks and if everyone got their anime via legal means, Singapore would be ahead of the other countries in terms of attractiveness to the Japanese studios.

Now, if they can demand same-time release of DVDs and airtime of episode in the first place, *when they first started out which i'm sure that downloads aren't so popular as of then* why didn't they do it? After all the comments, let me stress again, Singapore can never win in terms of market size as compared to other country. Basically because our anime market is small. 200k? as compared to america how many people do you think there are? Now if you are a Japanese company producing anime. Who will you give more of the benfits to?

Beyond all those, the localised anime culture would also support cosplay, arts, music and other aspects of anime fandom. If these are of a high enough standard, Peter even wishes to have them included as DVD extras in his products, for a local touch.

Well, extras are given by the company who are producing the DVDs, it all depends on whether they want to do it or not. I'm sure even now when people are downloading should there be a better packaging and EXTRAS not seen anywhere else in the world people would buy the DVDs. and whats of the culture? Killing off a market means killing any future culture there is.

All in all, this will in the end be a VISION only. Of which, i don't think they will achieve it. *Based on the actions taken by this company.