Odex, Pacific Net and Gamesmart

Once upon a time there was a company called Gamesmart that hung out at Orchard MRT (train station). They were an ambitious company that wanted to make "A LOT OF MONEY". They sold computer games and the like. These were expensive to buy from the suppliers - but then they had a BIG IDEA.

What was the BIG IDEA? To copy the games illegally from the suppliers - and then sell the fake games as if they were real goods. This is called counterfeiting - and it is also copyright infringement. According to net sources (including one at a ChannelNewsAsia forum) - the goods stolen in this way included Sony Playstation 2 titles.

Anyway, for a time, all was well. Gamesmart raked in the money and the Gamesmart boys were as happy as happy could be. But then, came a BAD DAY. The police raided their store and all their world fell apart. Two Gamesmart employees served jail sentences, as a result (ChannelNewsAsia forum, source).

Now, why am I talking to you about Gamesmart? Who are they? Well, the oddest of odd things is that Gamesmart has two key directors in common with Odex Pte Ltd. This is a most ironic circumstance for Odex is now pursuing a case against thousands of Singaporeans for copyright violations. Yet, hang on a minute, is that not hypocritical when the two key directors in both companies are the SAME MEN?

If you doubt this, please go to: http://www.nowhere.per.sg/local/gamesmart.pdf

Here you will find the ACRA records (Singapore government accounting body), for Gamesmart. You will note that Sing Xin Yang and Go Wei Ho Peter are directors of Gamesmart. As noted and shown in my previous posts on Odex they are also the two key players in Odex.

Now, Odex is seeking up to $5,000 from each person who downloaded Japanese anime cartoons such as Gundam Seed and Inuyasha, without payment, on the internet. They are seeking compensation for copyright infringement. There is nothing truly controversial about that: copyright is copyright and infringement is infringement - however, what has now become clear - and which was not clear when I posted on them before, is that the people behind Odex have, historically, been involved with a company that was itself charged with copyright violations and the manufacture of counterfeit goods - and was convicted.

All this leads us to a new understanding of the Odex, Pacific Net/Starhub/Singtel/Singnet situation. Whether or not Go or Sing were themselves instrumental in the Gamesmart violation, they were directors of Gamesmart, which was convicted of such violations. Therefore their stand now, against thousands of others who have infringed copyright on titles in which they have business interests, is truly hypocritical. In a moral sense, it seems doubtful that those who have themselves been involved in the infringement of copyright can take much of a stand on another case, in which their own rights are infringed.

Look at this more deeply. I have shown that there is a proven connection between Odex and AVPAS - the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore - in a previous post. How would those Japanese Anime Producers feel if they learnt that Odex, who they have clearly entrusted with the AVPAS work (since they are the administrative contact for AVPAS) - and were appointed by them to pursue this copyright case in Singapore - had, themselves, a history of copyright theft/violation through the past business history of their trusted appointees? (That is those appointees were directors of a company that was convicted of counterfeiting).

This is a very worrying development, not just for this case - but for the whole issue of copyright protection here in Singapore. From all these connections of the Odex directors to Gamesmart and AVPAS, it is clear that the guardians of copyright for anime here, in Singapore, AVPAS, have a link to the Odex directors, who themselves have a link to a company convicted of counterfeiting/copyright violations. Thus the old latin question arises: "Who guards the guards themselves?"

However, IP (intellectual property) must be strongly protected if there is to be any IP to protect. So, this situation does not detract from the need to protect from IP. It also does not make illegal downloading of anime or anything else legally right, either. Yet, it does point out the need to fully understand the situation. Who is it who complains of copyright theft? Have they ever done so themselves? If so, is it not hypocritical to then cry "thief" when another steals from them?

There is a moral solution here. Everyone who stole from Odex could pay a fine. Yes. But then Odex should pay Sony Playstation the same quantum for EVERY TITLE COPY THEY FORGED. By this, I mean that if there are 3,000 downloaders who have to pay 5,000 dollars each...then, unfortunate though it is for those individuals, the law might require them to pay. Yet, given the history of the situation, it would seem moral if the Odex directors also paid Sony the same sum for every copy made. If they made 10,000 copies then they should pay 5,000 dollars to Sony for every instance of violation. That would be both just - and funny.

However, it won't happen, because though they share the same key directors, Odex and Gamesmart are separate entities in law and cannot be pursued for the actions of each other. Yet, as a thought experiment, it has a certain satisfactory moral bite to it.

Let us see how the courts untangle this mess - for truly it is vastly more complex and subtle than at first, it seemed. Perhaps there are even more secrets lurking out there to be discovered.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, and Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Odex and AVPAS: Singapore twins?

Every day, I find that the world is odder than I ever could have thought. Here is something odd for you - a challenge if you like. Go to http://www.whois.domaintools.com/ and use their tool to look up odex.com.sg and avpas.com.sg

You don't have to do this if you don't want to - or are too lazy to - for I am about to tell you what you will find out. You will discover the oddest twist in the tale of copyright woes presently unfolding in Singapore.

First, perhaps I should explain what AVPAS is. It is the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore. This body was founded with the ostensibly laudable purpose of waging war against video piracy - in particular to protect the rights of Japanese anime cartoon producers, here, in Singapore. There seems to be nothing wrong with that. However, who, exactly is waging war?

Odex is the Singaporean distributor of Japanese anime cartoons that is presently trying to sue anyone caught downloading anime, off the internet, for free. This includes customers of Pacific Net, Starhub and Singtel.

If you have looked up the two organizations you may have noted something really, really strange. Both Odex and AVPAS share the same administrative contact address in Singapore. That is: Odex Pte Ltd, 10 Anson Road, #22-11, International Plaza, Singapore 079903

Now, I ask you, does that sound like an independent organization to you?

This makes the recent court decision almost darkly humourous. You see the Judge, Ernest Lau, in this case declined to allow Odex to win access to the identities of those Pacific Net subscribers who downloaded its titles, for several reasons. One of those reasons - a key reason - is that he did not believe that Odex was the right party to seek redress in this matter. His reasoning was that Odex was just a distributor with various licensed rights from the Japanese anime producers (some as sub-licensee, at least one as exclusive licensee - for Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) and he was unprepared to allow their action because they were not the actual producers of the Japanese anime cartoons. He did, however, indicate that he could accept that they were authorized to act on behalf of the Japanese anime producers - and then allow the action. However, he declined to accept this because he noted that, of the 13 letters that supported Odex's right to act on behalf of the Japanese anime producers, only 3 of them appointed Odex directly (and these were not producers, but distributors). The other 10 had appointed AVPAS, the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore to act on their behalf! That is hilarious. It seems that the guys behind Odex may have been a little too clever for themselves. As I understand it, they contend that AVPAS had appointed them to seek redress on behalf of the Japanese anime producers. But, as the coincidence of addresses noted above indicates - it is altogether possible - indeed probable -that AVPAS and Odex share more than an address in common. It could easily be a case of Odex appointing themselves to seek address, under the guise of "AVPAS".

Thus, it seems, from all the written evidence in the records at whois, that Odex gave itself the air of authority by getting the backing of AVPAS (no doubt this was easy, since they share an address). Furthermore, the Japanese anime producers authorized AVPAS to act on their behalf, as stated in the letters of evidence. However, the Judge rejected Odex's case on the basis that AVPAS had authorization - yes - and that would have been acceptable - but ODEX DID NOT.

I am not a follower of legal cases in general, but all this strikes me as darkly funny, if AVPAS and ODEX are in fact one and the same, which the evidence suggests is not only possible, but probable.

You see, if Odex and AVPAS are the same people, then Odex did, in effect, have authorization and their claim should have been allowed. Yet, because of the distinction drawn between AVPAS and Odex - intentionally, no doubt - by the people behind Odex, their claim could not be allowed - because the direct permission to act was between the Japanese anime producers and AVPAS - and not between Odex and those same producers.

This all goes to show that, in business, as in life, it is almost always better to be straightforward - because those complications can really get to you, in the end.

I must apologize to my regular readers for blogging more than once about the case - but it is uppermost in the minds of many Singaporeans and my research turned up some interesting information. Thanks for your patience.