Anti Video Piracy Association of Singapore

Anti Video Piracy Association of Singapore (AVPAS) is an anti-piracy alliance with other anime producers founded by Odex on 30 July 2003. The association lists over 400 titles (as of 25 May 2007) and is supported by at least one governmental agency. AVPAS is not a governmental agency by itself. It aims to monitor and combat the piracy of video related rights, in particular anime and Japanese-related Intellectual Property. The website technically is being maintained by NetroAsia. Its main committee members are Dr. Toh See Kiat (AVPAS president), Go Wei Ho Peter (AVPAS vice president and Odex director), Sing Xin Yang (AVPAS secretary and Odex director) and Yong Yet Yuen (AVPAS Secretary). [ [http://www.avpas.com.sg/AVPAS_Member.html AVPAS - Members ] ]

The organisation, along with Odex gained considerable prominence in mid-2007 due to Odex's legal actions against Internet users in Singapore, which were ultimately rejected by the Court in January 2008.

=Efforts in tackling Video Piracy in Singapore= Up to date, the AVPAS has only been known to have created a website which prominently features the Odex Clarification Article on their homepage, has pictures of pirated anime and Japanese video CDs and contains a list of so-called authorised titles.

According to the Odex Clarification Article, the AVPAS has also been said to have authorised Odex to carry out rampant demands of money from anime downloaders. [ [http://www.avpas.com.sg "Odex is authorised by the Anti-Video Piracy Association (Singapore) (AVPAS), a non-profit organisation whose members consist primarily of Japanese companies involved in the anime industry..." - Odex Clarification Article by Odex] ] However, the AVPAS has not publicly announced its so-called authorisation and has not commented on whether this claim by Odex is true or false.

=Controversy=The title "AVPAS" may mislead people into believing that AVPAS is a government organization or a organization registered with the Registry of Societies (ROS). The AVPAS is also not a commercial entity by itself (not registered with ACRA) but is registered by NETROASIA PTE LTD, the "technical admin" for ODEX.

With regards to its sudden prominence in mid-2007, which coincided with Odex's rise to notoriety among Netizens, there have been concerns raised regarding the legitamacy and purpose of AVPAS, especially since its main committee is dominated by the Odex directors. [ [http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_157007.html Whose interests is Avpas really serving?] ] The AVPAS website appears to have ceased from being updated since 31 August 2007, which is coincindentally the beginning of the period when the Odex Saga started to blow over in mainstream media.

Despite being self-dubbed the Anti Video Piracy Association of Singapore, the AVPAS does not seem to be interested in monitoring or combating the piracy of non-anime or non-Japanese films as the only titles listed or displayed on its website are either anime or Japanese video titles. In addition, since its formation 5 years ago, no known action has been taken by the AVPAS against pirates dabbling in non-anime and non-Japanese videos. The AVPAS has not issued any explanations regarding its preferential treatment for certain groups of video pirates.

ee also

*Odex
*Odex's actions against file sharing

References

External links

* [http://avpas.com.sg Official Website] - AVPAS