Yes, it’s that time of the year where people get scared to death in the LT of horrors, where teachers and principals get dunked into a pool of water (separately, of course), where games abound and prizes are way too attractive to give the games a miss. Yes, it’s time for Fun-O-Rama! But hor, for some strange reason, no one asked me if I wanted to buy any tickets. It’s usually around this time that I suddenly find my long-lost friends, but… this year’s so quiet!

Okie… maybe I am an outcast now… but if you have some Fun-O-Rama tickets that you want to sell, do feel free to leave a comment or drop us a message. Oh wait, don’t tell me the tradition is broken and there’s no Fun-O-Rama this year?

I thought the Odex case was over from the previous article, but apparently, there’s a part what was not highlighted in the earlier article.

In an oral judgement, Justice Woo Bih Li ordered PacNet to reveal the identities of alleged anime downloaders to six studios producing the animated Japanese cartoons.

From this, alleged anime downloaders may be liable to further prosecution by the original copyright owners, but it is not known how this will be done or carried out.

THE RIGHT to privacy is no shield for those who commit online piracy, the High Court ruled on Tuesday.

In an oral judgement, Justice Woo Bih Li ordered PacNet to reveal the identities of alleged anime downloaders to six studios producing the animated Japanese cartoons.

These are those who had downloaded anime like Gundam, Cowboy Bebop and Naruto, which were made by Sunrise Inc, Kadokawa Pictures Inc, TV Tokyo Medianet Inc, GDH K.K, Yomiuri Telecasting, and Showgate Inc.

Justice Woo also dismissed the original plaintiff’s - anime distributor Odex - request for the same names, and ordered it to pay PacNet’s legal fees of $20,000.

Since Odex could not sue downloaders under Singapore’s Copyright Act, Justice Woo said there was no reason why it needed the names of the alleged downloaders - unlike the Japanese studios which own the copyright for the anime and could sue infringers.

On this ground, District Judge Ernest Lau turned down Odex’s request for the names at the Subordinate Court last September.

Odex, which launched a controversial crackdown on alleged anime downloaders last May, appealed his decision.

It subsequently asked Justice Woo to allow it to add the six Japanese anime studios as co-plaintiffs, which he allowed.

In the earlier decision, Justice Lau had also said that he was not wholly satisfied with Odex’s explanation of how it identified downloaders.

On appeal, Odex introduced five new affidavits to address this point.

Many online users celebrated the judgement while others cautioned that this did not mean the end of the crackdown.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 29th January 2008

Apparently, the Singapore dollar has risen strong against the greenback (US dollar), setting a 11 year record high of S$1 to US$1.4195. The Singapore dollar is traded against a basket of other currencies within a trading band known as the nominal effective exchange rate (neer). The currencies involved are not made known to prevent speculation of the Singapore dollar. This may have various implication as the US dollar is widely used in trades but the Monetary Authority of Singapore is not taking any further actions yet.

For my fellow Singaporeans, it’s probably about time to hit the US online stores! =P

SINGAPORE - THE Singapore dollar rose to 11-year highs against the US dollar on Tuesday while traders bet on another US interest rate cut this week to try to ward off a US recession, dealers said.

The dollar was at 1.4195 against the greenback, down slightly from 1.4187 earlier, and against 1.4244 on Monday.

‘The local currency is stronger because of the falling US dollar,’ said Joseph Tan, a strategist at Fortis Bank.

The greenback came under pressure after the US Commerce Department on Monday said sales of new homes across the United States fell 4.7 per cent in December from the prior month.

Property sales across the US declined last year and banks revealed hefty losses tied to ailing mortgage investments, leading to widespread fears for the US economy.

Mr Tan said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) - the city-state’s de facto central bank - also wants to tolerate a stronger Singapore dollar to hedge against rising inflation.

‘We are not in any danger of intervention from the MAS at this stage,’ he said.

The MAS conducts monetary policy through the local currency rather than by setting interest rates.

The Singapore dollar is traded against a basket of currencies of the city-state’s major trading partners within an undisclosed trading band known as the nominal effective exchange rate (Neer).

Details of the trading band are not made public to prevent speculation in the Singapore dollar.

Most analysts expect the US Federal Reserve, the US central bank, to trim at least another quarter point off its key federal funds interest rate when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The rate is currently 3.50 per cent after the Fed slashed it by 0.75 percentage points in an emergency move aimed at calming global financial markets roiled by fears of a widening US recession. — AFP

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 29th January 2008

Apparently, Odex’s quest to get the list from PacNet has hit a snag when the courts threw out their request. The reason was that the ownership of the copyright is not Odex’s and hence they should not have access to the list. On the other hand, the rightful owners of the copyrights may obtained the list should they sue.

My heart goes out to those who paid the settlements earlier on without any avenue to turn to. Wait, does it seem like the other operators just enriched Odex indirectly?

THE High Court on Tuesday dismissed anime distributor Odex’s attempt to obtain the names of PacNet (previously called Pacific Internet) customers who had allegedly downloaded the animated Japanese cartoons. Instead, it ordered the Internet service provider to reveal their identities to six Japanese anime studios.

In a verbal judgement in the High Court, Justice Woo Bih Li said that since Odex could not sue downloaders under Singapore’s Copyright Act, there was no reason it should be allowed to obtain the names of the alleged downloaders.

This is the same reason District Judge Ernest Lau had given for turning down Odex’s request for the names last September.

Odex had appealed the decision, and had subsequently made submissions to add six Japanese anime studios to its case. Justice Woo granted this request.

Since these studios owned the copyright and could sue, they will have access to the downloaders’ names, he said.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 29th January 2008

Happy Chinese New Year to all! Er… a little early hor =P but it’s ok because I’m giving away a hamper to the luckiest reader of the blog! Haha.. but I have one problem. Erm… I don’t know what contest to hold this time round. Quite dry this year… don’t know why. I think I seriously need help.

What is the easiest means of giving out free stuffs? I figured that people don’t like to post photos, send photos, do stuffs - or for that matter, do anything for anything else, even if it’s for free. Nowadays, it’s so difficult to give away free things right? Any ideas?