NUS warns against illegal Anime Downloads
*update* Here’s a copy of a letter sent by odex. (Found by TJ HAN) It’s quite interesting the number of episodes that he was concurrently downloading. Some thoughts by Darkmirage on this issue. Not sure how right he is, but he does make some good points.
*update 2* Zaobao reports that a total of 17 letters were sent out.
Look what I got in my mailbox today, an email from the NUS PROVOST.
Recently the University was approached by a representative of a local authorised distributor of foreign television programmes, including anime, and of the Anti-Video Piracy Association, Singapore and was informed that various illegal online downloads of anime had been made from IP addresses belonging to NUS during the months of March and April this year.
I guess this pretty much confirms whether those warnings about clamping down on illegal downloads of anime are real.
After due investigation, the University found that the IP addresses belonged to both staff and students of the University, who have subsequently admitted to making the illegal downloads. Disciplinary measures have, or will be, imposed on these staff and students by the University.
That would pretty much show you that you can be tracked down. I’ve got a personal friend who has been fined a few hundred for torrenting a Universal Studios movie, so I guess it’s the same for anime, no reason to doubt.
So if you’re downloading illegal anime, you’ve got something to be afraid of.
No point in sayin anything much at this point anymore, right? Sigh…
But seriously, when are the sales of QUALITY anime going to come in. I respect that ODEX is faster at getting serieses out into the market than American companies, but if the cost is going to be the crap I wrote about last time, then forget it…
Heh. Best not to even talk anymore, I guess…
My my.
Shikatanai daro?
jeez…i understand that thier profits are stagnating but stopping downloads and doujins isnt gonna solve that…im thinking that theyve just run out of ideas at this point…although i wonder if theyve ever considered putting out DVD’s in a timely and affordable manner so people to resort to downloads…meh like drake says best not to talk anymore…not like anyone is gonna listen at this point
I hear the new head of PROVOST is very disliked by even the faculty. Guess this is why and more! How come I don’t see you at school?
Isn’t it the summer vacation now… shouldn’t everybody be on holiday…. (which is why I can’t understand why you seem to be studying)
although I think the better reason would be because I’ve graduated this year?
So are you taking precautions and not downloading anime? I’d find it difficult if I couldn’t download anime to watch.
This is juz my opinion. Odex should really IMPROVE on their vcds/dvd quality. Not just the inside(vcd/dvd), but the outside(packaging) as well.
I wouldn’t mind if it’s a tad pricey for a boxset of something i wanted to watch. As long as the product is of good quality, i’ll be willing to pay a little(extra $20~$30) more. They probably should get a new creative director (or get one if they don’t) and re-design their stuff.
This is one REALLY bad news for anime watchers in Singapore… ugh, i’m still not taking this news too well… T________T
It stinks of greed. I don’t like how this is going.
Uhmm… how is it being greedy? They’re protecting the intellectual property they licensed… which they hold the right to distribute as they see fit in the geographical area it was licensed for. The series listed in the letter aren’t exactly cheap to license either.
HAhaha I was ooooooooooo when I received that in my nus-email. But its strange when they mentioned staff, I wonder if any dean or professors were doing such things as well.
This is very disturbing to note and I am really re-evaluating what I should or should not do. Maybe my post about stopping might even come through. Meh.
nooneofconsequence:
Correct me if I am wrong, but from my understanding thus far, I believe that the anime clampdown is on almost every current anime available, and some of the titles are still on air in Japan.
As far as I know, Odex, while occasionally faster than other companies at releases, are probably also not going to release everything that comes out in Japan. So where will I be getting my anime from, if I am not interested in what Odex is going to release? Can Odex guarantee that they will be releasing every anime on their list in English subs, and even so, will I be paying for GOOD quality from Odex?
Other than that, they happen to be cornering the Singaporean distributor market for anime - good for them, bad for us - Odex has not been reassuring in terms of quality of audio, video or the subbing, and I hear rumours that Odex uses fansubs and sells them as their own sometimes.
So how is this greedy? They’re essentially just trying to force people to buy their releases, to put simply. Dark Mirage also dug up some evidence that some of the APVAS and Odex management are the same people.
Disturbing.
wat to do NUS has the most download in Singapore collectively… well amount schools…
And its not really surprising considering that they have already given a 6 month warning… and also there’s no fixed amount stated on the letter on how much fine to be paid, its just to talk to them before 25th May… who noes…
raydance:
I’m not very familiar with the Singapore anime scene and who distributes over there as I’ve primarily dealt with American distributors and have bought a couple R2’s. Having never imported ODEX releases I couldn’t comment on either their quality or anyone’s claim they lack quality.
I beg to differ about the idea of them being greedy. Anime isn’t communal property as it is commercial art for the purpose to make money through entertainment. Yet what are the three series listed in the letter linked to? Inuyasha, Bleach, and Tsubassa Chronicles. All of those are high profile series a licensor pays big money for and expects to get a return on investment for and more. People all too often conveniently forget the business side of the anime industry for whatever idealistic purposes they may have.
If you play around with fire, expect to get burned… especially if you are going to use a school network to do your torrent work. If you don’t want to accept the consequences, import either Australian R4 discs or the American R1 ones to protest ODEX product if the quality is truly lacking.
nooneofconsequence:
Thanks for the civil reply. While I agree that Odex has the right to file C&Ds or settlement suits against people who are downloading anime already licensed to and published by them (eg, as you have said, Bleach, Inuyasha, Naruto), what gets my goat is that they’re also threatening (too strong a word?) to clamp down on anime that they may not be publishing. (eg, most of the list on the AVPAS site.)
Boycotting Odex product is one thing, but what if I don’t have the resources to buy from overseas? =\ What if I want to sample a certain anime first?
Go Underground
Naruto isn’t being distributed by Odex in Singapore, but by BlueMax.
What they need is to not just improve on the quality of the audio etc. but also the contents inside it.
There are some with Japanese and Chinese audio but the subtitles are also in Chinese. It’s really not convenient for ppl who don’t understand Chinese to buy them. Bleach VCD Box sets are like this.
They should at least put Japanese and English audio in it with English subtitles. Screw Chinese dubs, it’s Japanese and English that we want. If some people hate English dubs so much, there is no reason why they should sell Chinese dubs. English dubs are better than Chinese dubs.
The thing is, it’s a 2-way thing. While they ban downloading of anime, they should also improve on the quality of their releases. I’m sure if they do that, both sides will be happy. They get their money, we get our entertainment.
The current situation is they ban downloads, fine people, get the money, and sell us their releases which are supposedly legal but their quality are worst than fansubs’. Or are they trying to fine people, get the money to improve on their quality releases, and then sell them back at us?
Really, all they’ve been doing is warning the public how these downloadings are illegal, but nothing on how their quality sucks.
From AVPAS’s Website:
REASONS WHY THIS EXISTS
* Lack of communication between the content holders and the Singapore law-enforcement agencies
* The misguiding impression that the censor-board stickers give the public, that the video is original.
* Total cost of legal procedures
* Loopholes that are exploited by video pirates in Singapore
* Public’s low awareness level in identifying pirated products
Looks like they’ve forgotten to include 1 more point:
* Fansubs have better quality than lousy original VCDs/DVDs.
I think most of the animes Odex sells are of super low quality and yet the costs they are selling is totally madness. Honestly, fansubs have much better quality and I do not think that Odex are going to improve their quality of anime.Sometimes in some of the Odex I bought,the name of the fansubs can been seen, what’s worst is the quality seems a little worst then the original fansub.
I do agree to the very fact that what odex has been selling is of very low quality, and what’s more their subtitle sucks! Neverthless, I do buy a few titles from them because i think it will be better to get a licensed one better than a non-licensed one in singapore. But still, when I see the anime licensed, firstly I was shocked and what’s more is that it seems that only 1/4 or less than that in the list has been released out by odex.
So, they can’t really blame the people who went for fansub downloading, instead of purchasing their legal anime titles.
Whether are you downloading licensed/non-licensed anime in singapore, they won’t care about it and still, will fine you eventually.
I excuse myself for interrupting your conversation, I really don’t know much of singapure or manga distribution on many contries besides america france and spain, but for what I heard is not getting any better any soon ANYWHERE, why? simple, the investment requiered to satisfy the custumer needs (Subs content, dubs, etc..) represent too much risk for the distribution houses (or at least thats what they think). Let’s not forget that anime started exporting better than ever, since the “rise of peer-to-peer”, and that most of the international anime distrubutors saw their stocks empty out, thanks to the publicity they where getting for free.
Another thing I’ll like to point out is that the only reason any given company becomes more strict is for the simple but at the same time stupid reason, “we must make more profit than last year” even if last year was more than enough the numbers must always rise, so what they are really complaining about is not the lost of money but the lack of making more.
that’s all, sorry if i went a little bit of subject, hehe, but I just wanted to bring another perspective without any specific details just something to think about.
Coming down against downloaders is obviously not as effective as going for the sources. Its the same for all other forms of media piracy: they have to go to the root of the problem, else it’s hardly gonna work.
Kill one downloader and there are 999 others (well, maybe a few more get spooked too); go for the sources and the 1000 downloaders will have nothing.
Believe me, this issue will blow over rather fast. All of use will talk about it, whine about it, argue with each other about it (like whats happening here), but at the end of the day, we will all resume watching anime.
Isn’t it time for us to unite and let those morons know that they have been neglecting our needs?! They are buying with fire, the result is going to be very obvious. Without mutual respect and cooperation, it will be a matter of time they will face financial crisis.
With their non-rationale behaviour and illogic marketing strategy, Odex sued the fans and recovered part of the losses. That’s nothing more than a short term boost, I strongly believe they will crush themselves and kiss the ground forever very soon. We have seen many companies that did the same to the consumers, the end result was expected.
If all of you here truly, like I do, demand quality product, we must show them our determination. I believe I don’t need to explain how you all should do it.
Um, just let me ask some question here. So if we download anime from websites that sub them or share them, we would also get fined, or if we download from illegal sites??? I’m lost… Please help me.
It’s illegal to download anime from any websites that sub or share. But at the moment, Odex is going after those that are downloading fansubs via bitttorent.
Its sad.. im just gotten hooked on Claymore series.. Its such a sad sad world out here.
soon anime will be something for the rich ? ahahaa poor ppl cant afford to spend their cash on some low-quality fansubs tat sells for 20 bucks a box
“TedFox Says:
August 13th, 2007 at 10:26 am
It’s illegal to download anime from any websites that sub or share. But at the moment, Odex is going after those that are downloading fansubs via bitttorent.”
so tedfox are u saying that it includes licence and non licence ones as well?cos seriuosly i am still unable to find a list to wat are the licence ones.as well as the fact thatanimes in japan are coming out daily.it’s really hard for me to understand is i am part of a victim or not x.X
sigh…i am starting to really feel sad of wat’s happening in singapore…
ODEX doesn’t care. As long as you’re downlaoding Anime, whether they bring it or not, they’ll sue you anyway.
Thats what caused the initial fury.
Of course, Stephen Sing’s arrogance and idiocy which had been exposed just recently added to the fire, and Peter Ho’s ignorance is just making things worse.
“TedFox Says:
August 13th, 2007 at 10:26 am
It’s illegal to download anime from any websites that sub or share. But at the moment, Odex is going after those that are downloading fansubs via bitttorent.”
I am not so good in IT. What is bit torrent ? It is the same as downloading from reality-lapse.com, animeground.com, anime-eden.com etc. Is Odex going after those that download from these sites ? Please enlighten. Thanks.
It’s big money here. $5000 per illegal downloader, times 1000 that will be 5 mill already.
They go for bittorent cos technically that is the easiest to catch. Just list IP address of all downloader at one time, filter to select only those in Singapore, go to internet provider to give out name, and you are done for.
These ppl are smart they let us enjoy naruto for free for many months. So now they can profit from illegal downloads. Conspiracy.
Smart bastards. This is where they get their real profit thats what all big companies are doing now. MOney MOney $$$$$$
I will only support other companies like INNOFORM who brought in KARAS and G.H.O.S.T IN A SHELL & not ODEX. What I can’t understand is their(ODEX’S) lack of acknowledging Singaporean Fan Base of anime. I’m willing to pay for DVD and good subs. But they obviously take too long and I can’t imagine why after 1 year of waiting (for bleach), They are still not releasing anything after episode 51 and it’s in mandarin and chinese subs. Do they need almost a year to load it in a DVD(or VCD) and sub? Anime like G.H.O.S.T in a shell (stand alone complex) was in DVD and it’s fantasic and cost me about S$80. I shelled the money out right after reading that it was DVD and had english subs. What’s the point of buying VCD and watch the lousier quality when the artist put in so much effort to get it in DVD grade? I will pay willingly, if they set up a wesite and release single episodes say 5-10 days after it’s aired from Japan and I pay with credit card. MY CONCLUSION : Make It a Legal Download. Or make it in VCD/DVD fast. Like 13 episode lag time only. Currently ( For Bleach ) Japan is airing episode 136 soon and Stores in Singapore are at episode 51 and in Chinese. And if you think Singaporeans ( 1 of the fast walking people in the world) are going to wait anything from months to years for anything like dvd movies or anime, you GOTTA be kidding. Finally, I feel that Odex is not trying to make sales better they’re just making sales from now on worse. Heard from my Hardcore anime friends that they’ll just pool money and buy from amazon.com. Looks Like I’ll Join In too. And from now onwards, will not buy anything from Odex.
Heh, to be REAL honest.. I would say that ODEX taking measures to stop online pirating of anime, really pissed me off at first. To me, its not because I don’t want to respect intellectual property or that I don’t want to pay, generally i think its because Singapore is such a closed off market and by stopping online downloading, it limits anime fans to what the market can only merely offer right now.
First off, i remember buying ODEX’s Inuyasha VCDs from Poh Kim, and sad to say, the quality really really sucked.. The picture quality was dull and some of the subbings were wrong.. If I’m paying $20-30 dollars for something of lower grad, i would rather pay more for good quality..
Secondly, I don’t know if its my misguided opinion, but i think ODEX is really cheapskate! I mean, all the animes brought in are years old and those that I really want to watch, i can’t watch.. how crap is that man! If they want to stop downloading of anime, first, they must provide an alternative avenue by which we can pay, yet keep up.. if not it is really killing off the premature market of animation in Singapore..
and to think, we’re supposedly heading towards ‘creativity’ while being boxed-off and under exposed..
maybe i’m just biased =))
hehe lol that suks for singapore but its awsme for us. in new zealand not many people really know about anime and you would be suprised that only a few anime series actually make it here and our video piracy protection is crap lol