File sharing in Singapore

Last updated

File sharing in Singapore relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. In January 2019, there were about 12,971,500 households connected with a broadband connection to the Internet in Singapore. There are also many public Internet access points (Wireless LAN) such as public libraries and Internet cafes. [1]

Contents

Public opinion in Singapore shows that 1 in 2 are okay with illegal downloads, although 4 in 5 (or 82% of >1000 respondents) Singaporeans say protecting Intellectual property (IP) is important according to the latest Intellectual Property Office of Singapore report released in November 2014. The same belief did not seem to translate for online activities, more than 55% (down from 78% in a similar the survey in 2010) think that unauthorised downloading is a theft. [2] [3] On the other side consumers also pointed to the lack of available legal methods of downloading digital content, such as Netflix etc.

Legislation

The Copyright Act (Singapore) 2014 are applicable to and may be breached by file sharing activity.

The Copyright Act (Singapore) 2014 aims to protect the intellectual property rights of the creator or copyright holder. File sharing violates this act when the copyright owner has not given permission for its material to be shared. [4]

Action to prevent illegal file sharing

Recording Industry Association of Singapore

On 17 October 2006, the Recording Industry Association of Singapore filed cases of illegal music file-sharing. [5] This basically results from obligations under the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

ODEX

Anime distributor ODEX has been actively tracking down and sending legal threats against individual BitTorrent users in Singapore since 2007.

In 2008, ODEX sought a pre-action discovery order against Pacific Internet (an internet services provider) which would have required Pacific Internet to disclose information about its subscribers to facilitate ODEX taking legal action against subscribers who were downloading infringing content via the BitTorrent protocol. The application was dismissed by the Singapore High Court on the basis that ODEX was not an owner or exclusive licensee of the content allegedly infringed, and therefore ODEX lacked standing to seek such a discovery order. [6] [7]

Dallas Buyers Club LLC

In April 2015, Samuel Seow Law Corporation represented Dallas Buyers Club LLC in sending demand letters to more than 500 subscribers asking for a written offer of damages and costs. [8]

As a result of this pressure, the 2 main ISPs (Singtel and Starhub) became responsible for the notification of users identified by Dallas Buyers Club LLC. This notification could be a cease and desist order that will threaten legal action if the behaviour continues or if a compensation payment is not made. Further steps can also be taken by ISPs if the identified users continue to breach copyright, such as the restriction of the bandwidth available to them or even total disconnection and possible bans or suspensions from the Internet.

In April 2017, the same law firm tried to obtain the details of users who tried to download the movies 'Fathers and Daughters' and 'Queen of the Desert'. However, the Singapore High Court denied these applications, citing insufficient evidence. [9]

Opposition

President Harish Pillay and vice-president Professor Ang Peng Hwa of Internet Society of Singapore (ISOC) stated, that "threatening subscribers won't stop copyright infringement." [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warez</span> Movies, software or music distributed in violation of copyright

Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural form of ware, and is intended to be pronounced like the word wares. The circumvention of copy protection (cracking) is an essential step in generating warez, and based on this common mechanism, the software-focused definition has been extended to include other copyright-protected materials, including movies and games. The global array of warez groups has been referred to as "The Scene", deriving from its earlier description as "the warez scene". Distribution and trade of copyrighted works without payment of fees or royalties generally violates national and international copyright laws and agreements. The term warez covers supported as well as unsupported (abandonware) items, and legal prohibitions governing creation and distribution of warez cover both profit-driven and "enthusiast" generators and distributors of such items.

In computer networks, download means to receive data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is sent to a remote server.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odex</span> Singapore-based licensing company

Odex Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based company that licenses and releases anime for local and regional Southeast Asian consumption. Odex was established in 1987 and set up its Anime Distribution department in 2000, selling anime in Singapore. It works with Japanese licensors such as Sunrise Inc., TV Tokyo, Yomiuri TV, D-Rights, TMS, Showgate Inc and Aniplex Inc. Odex also sells programs to television stations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, such as TV3, NTV7, Astro, MediaCorp TV and StarHub TV. Other than licensing, Odex also does English dubbing, translation and subtitling for other companies. Odex also deals in anime merchandise sales.

File sharing in Canada relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. Canada had the greatest number of file sharers by percentage of population in the world according to a 2004 report by the OECD. In 2009 however it was found that Canada had only the tenth greatest number of copyright infringements in the world according to a report by BayTSP, a U.S. anti-piracy company.

Arts and media industry trade groups, such as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), strongly oppose and attempt to prevent copyright infringement through file sharing. The organizations particularly target the distribution of files via the Internet using peer-to-peer software. Efforts by trade groups to curb such infringement have been unsuccessful with chronic, widespread and rampant infringement continuing largely unabated.

A "notice and notice" system is used by some internet service providers (ISPs) in relation to the uploading and downloading activities of a user of a peer-to-peer file sharing network, otherwise known as "P2P". It may occur when an ISP receives notification from a rights holder to a copyrighted work that one of its subscribers is allegedly hosting or sharing infringing material. The ISP may then be required to forward the notice to the subscriber, and to monitor that subscriber's activities for a period of time. The ISP is not required to reveal the subscriber's personal information, nor does the ISP take any further steps to ensure that the allegedly infringing material is removed.

File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia, program files, documents or electronic books/magazines. It involves various legal aspects as it is often used to exchange data that is copyrighted or licensed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odex's actions against file-sharing</span> Legal actions against illegal downloading activities

Odex's actions against file sharing were Japan copyright owners' pre-action discovery to Singapore Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to request for subscribers details in Singapore who were traced to illegal download activities of their licensed anime series. Odex is a Singapore-based company that licenses and releases anime for local and regional Southeast Asian consumption. As Japanese copyright owners are located in Japan, Odex, being holder of the Japanese anime license in Singapore, were appointed to submit legal documents and court proceedings on their behalf in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal issues with BitTorrent</span>

The use of the BitTorrent protocol for the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted content generated a variety of novel legal issues. While the technology and related platforms are legal in many jurisdictions, law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies are attempting to address this avenue of copyright infringement. Notably, the use of BitTorrent in connection with copyrighted material may make the issuers of the BitTorrent file, link or metadata liable as an infringing party under some copyright laws. Similarly, the use of BitTorrent to procure illegal materials could potentially create liability for end users as an accomplice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright infringement</span> Illegal usage of copyrighted works

Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.

Graduated response is a protocol or law, adopted in several countries, aimed at reducing unlawful file sharing.

<i>Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd</i>

Roadshow Films Pty Ltd & others v iiNet Ltd was a case in the Federal and High Courts of Australia between members of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) and other movie and television studios and iiNet, Australia's third-largest Internet service provider (ISP) at the time. The alliance of 34 companies unsuccessfully claimed that iiNet authorised primary copyright infringement by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent its customers from downloading and sharing infringing copies of films and television programs using BitTorrent.

File sharing in the United Kingdom relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. In 2010, there were over 18.3 million households connected to the Internet in the United Kingdom, with 63% of these having a broadband connection. There are also many public Internet access points such as public libraries and Internet cafes.

BMG Canada Inc. v. Doe, 2004 FC 488 aff'd 2005 FCA 193, is an important Canadian copyright law, file-sharing, and privacy case, where both the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal refused to allow the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) and several major record labels to obtain the subscriber information of Internet service provider (ISP) customers alleged to have been infringing copyright.

Torrent poisoning is intentionally sharing corrupt data or data with misleading file names using the BitTorrent protocol. This practice of uploading fake torrents is sometimes carried out by anti-infringement organisations as an attempt to prevent the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing of copyrighted content, and to gather the IP addresses of downloaders.

Copyright Alert System (CAS) was a voluntary industry effort to educate and penalize internet users who engage in the unauthorized and unlawful distribution of copyrighted works via peer-to-peer file sharing services. The program was operated by the Center for Copyright Information, a consortium consisting of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the internet service providers AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon.

The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an American organization focused on advocacy and initiatives in support of copyright law. The CCI aims to educate the public about copyright law; coordinates with copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs) about issues related to online copyright infringement; assists with the design, implementation, review, and promotion of an online infringement notification and mitigation system ; collects and disseminates online infringement data; and promotes lawful means of obtaining copyrighted works. The organization was created as a partnership between industry associations, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, and five major American Internet service providers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countries blocking access to The Pirate Bay</span>

This is a list on countries where at least one internet service provider (ISP) formerly or currently censors the popular file sharing website The Pirate Bay (TPB).

Rightscorp. Inc is a Los-Angeles based copyright enforcement company, which locates alleged copyright violators and collects money from legal damages as well as out of court settlements on behalf of the copyright holder(s). Rightscorp manages copyrights of videos, music, and video games.

Maverickeye UG is a copyright enforcement company that is based in Germany. It detects and retraces copyright infringement using software technology.

References

  1. ↑ "Statistic on Telecom Service for 2019 Jan - Infocomm Media Development Authority" . Retrieved 23 April 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "One in 2 here OK with illegal file-sharing, Singapore, Digital News - AsiaOne". 24 April 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "4 in 5 Singaporeans say protecting IP is important: IPOS survey". Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Copyright". IPOS. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Personal Liability for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing under Singapore's Copyright Act: Trends and Implications". Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Odex Pte Ltd v Pacific Internet Ltd [2008] SGHC 35". www.elitigation.sg. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "High Court, Civil Action, Odex Pte. Ltd. v. Pacific Internet Ltd., [2008] SGHC 35, [2008] 3 SLR 18 | wilmap". wilmap.stanford.edu. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  8. ↑ "Studio demands compensation from more than 500 people here who downloaded movie, Singapore News & Top Stories - The Straits Times". 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. ↑ hermes (20 April 2017). "High Court throws out Hollywood movie piracy case". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Dallas Buyers Club case: Threatening subscribers won't stop copyright infringement, Opinion News & Top Stories - The Straits Times". 1 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.