Hollywood (ang mo dua kee) goes after illegal downloaders in S'pore

[johnny333]

Actually funny that they are going after Sporeans for illegal down loads. Many Sporeans are using VPN to appear to be living in the USA so that they can sign & pay for services provided by companies like Netflix, Hulu,.... These companies are not interested in providing services to Spore.

 

[Prodigy]

Dallas Buyers Club case: Complaint filed against US studio's lawyers here

Internet Society accuses it of bullying alleged downloaders to settle claims

Published on Jun 23, 2015 8:16 AM

Cinema still from the movie Dallas Buyers Club starring Jared Leto (left) and Matthew McConaughey. -- PHOTO: SHAW

By Irene Tham Technology Correspondent

SINGAPORE - The Internet Society (Singapore) has filed a complaint against the local law firm representing Hollywood studio Voltage Pictures, saying it is "bullying" alleged illegal downloaders of its movie Dallas Buyers Club into paying settlement fees.

The complaint, filed with the Law Society late last week, centres on Samuel Seow Law Corp's two lawyers having breached ethical guidelines with the use of criminal threats in demand letters sent to Internet users.

Mr Harish Pillay, president of the Internet Society (Singapore), said the non-profit organisation - which promotes the use of the Internet - does not condone illegal downloading. But he added: "It is not fair to threaten people who are not trained in the law with criminal proceedings in a letter to further civil claims."

The first batch of letters, penned by lawyers Robert Raj and Lee Heng Eam, was sent out in early April to 77 M1 Internet subscribers.

Urging aggrieved subscribers to complain to the Law Society, Mr Pillay said that such threats amount to "bullying". He added: "We have to make a stand and urge the relevant authorities to enforce the ethical boundaries which have already been set."

The letters, seen by The Straits Times, spell out a maximum fine of $50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both, under Section 136(3) of the Copyright Act. It also specified a maximum fine of $20,000 or a maximum jail term of six months, or both, under Section 136(3A) of the Act.

However, the Law Society's Practice Directions and Rulings 1989 - a set of ethical guidelines for lawyers - states: "It is improper for a solicitor to communicate in writing or otherwise a threat of criminal proceedings in order to achieve a stated objective in any circumstance." The Law Society declined to comment on whether it has received the complaint.

Mr Samuel Seow, managing director of Samuel Seow Law Corp, is distancing himself from the case. "I have been advised by the lawyers concerned that the letter is not in breach of the Law Society's practice directions," he said.

Last week, more demand letters - possibly hundreds - were sent to Singtel and StarHub users.

Seen by The Straits Times, they refer to the same criminal proceedings but the threats are "more implicitly worded", according to intellectual property lawyer Cyril Chua of ATMD Bird & Bird.

The three Internet service providers - Singtel, StarHub and M1 - were compelled by the Singapore High Court to release subscribers' details linked to some 500 Singapore Internet protocol addresses at which the movie was allegedly downloaded.

Mr Seow declined to reveal how many Internet users have offered to pay damages and whether their offers have been accepted.

A Straits Times check with the courts yesterday showed that no writ of summons has been filed against any illegal downloader here. Meanwhile, those who have received the letter of demand can seek free legal advice from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore's IP Legal Clinic.

[email protected]

Background story

The three Internet service providers - Singtel, StarHub and M1 - were compelled by the Singapore High Court to release subscribers' details linked to some 500 Singapore Internet protocol addresses at which the movie was allegedly downloaded.

 

[NanoSpeed]

Mr Samuel Seow, managing director of Samuel Seow Law Corp, is distancing himself from the case. "I have been advised by the lawyers concerned that the letter is not in breach of the Law Society's practice directions," he said.

Does anyone know if this Samuel Seow bloke is related to Shaun Seow of Mediacorpse ?

His big face is pasted on a poster at NTUC together with some CEOs, and he is known as "Celebrity Lawyer".

I did a Google search, and apparently he is popular with mediacorpse artists and related companies. Coincidentally, Shaun Seow is the Big Boss of Mediacorpse. I wonder if they are brothers.

 

[topherbeats]

Long time lurker first time poster here! Felt compelled to join this discussion, since you guys are some of the only ones talking sense on this topic.

Completely agree that taking control of your online privacy yourself is the best way (with a VPN and various other data encryption services).

Found this "ultimate guide to online privacy" that's super in depth and lists like 150+ tools to arm yourself with for this: http://fried.com/privacy -- worth checking out I think.

Hope those Singaporeans don't have to "face the music" for their illegal downloading, but hopefully more people will learn from their mistake and look into privacy protection tools now!

 

[Cacked]

There is no "one answer fits all" solution. Each will have their strengths and their weaknesses. It all depends upon what you are trying to achieve.

Best VPNs for netflix : https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/8848/5-best-vpns-netflix-2014-update/

Best VPNs for torrent : https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/11535/5-best-vpn-torrent-p2p-filesharing/

Best VPNs for privacy : https://www.bestvpn.com/the-ultimate-privacy-guide/

VPN myths : https://www.goldenfrog.com/take-back-your-internet/articles/7-myths-about-vpn-logging-and-anonymity

How can you be caught using Private VPN when there's no logs about who you are?

I use free VPNs only when I have to unblock geo-restricted content.

 

[Leongsam]

Everything you need to know about VPN : https://thebestvpn.com/what-is-vpn-beginners-guide/

 

[donaldS]

I use free VPNs only when I have to unblock geo-restricted content.

I know that free VPNs are life savors on a temporary basis. But trust me these free are so dangerous in the other end, you and I cannot even imagine. These Free VPNs will let you stream or visit websites which are not accessible, but in the other end, you never know how much unsafe your computer gets. Because they don't give you that complete 100% protection, that is why you have a maximum chance of Data Leakage. And that you cannot afford. Plus, you won't know when you connected through a Free VPN and when someone is stealing out your data. Here is all you need to know the Best VPN for Torrenting. Trust me, it is better to pay for the sake of your data protection.

 

[tyrone91x]

I know that free VPNs are life savors on a temporary basis. But trust me these free are so dangerous in the other end, you and I cannot even imagine. These Free VPNs will let you stream or visit websites which are not accessible, but in the other end, you never know how much unsafe your computer gets. Because they don't give you that complete 100% protection, that is why you have a maximum chance of Data Leakage. And that you cannot afford. Plus, you won't know when you connected through a Free VPN and when someone is stealing out your data. Here is all you need to know the Best VPN for Torrenting. Trust me, it is better to pay for the sake of your data protection.

Actually, the free ones can or should only be used for getting a torrent if and only if they offer encryption. If the data doesn't get encrypted while it's being downloaded, then there can be an issue but the nature of data could still be seen and the location from where it's being obtained.