- Odex
-
ODEX Pte Ltd Type Private Limited Industry Animation-related distribution Founded Singapore (1987) Headquarters Singapore, Singapore Key people Peter Go, CEO/Director
Stephen Sing, Enforcement DivisionProducts Video VCD / DVD Employees 12[1] Website www.odex.com.sg Odex Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based company that licenses and releases anime for local and regional Southeast Asian consumption. It was registered in 1998 to license, import and release overseas drama and animation into Singapore. It began distribution in 2000. Odex also sells programs to television stations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, such as NTV7, MediaCorp TV12 Central, MediaCorp TV Channel U and StarHub TV E-City Channel 111. Other than licensing, Odex also does English dubbing, translation and/or subtitling for other companies.
Odex is most well known for taking legal action in 2007-2008 against home users who were allegedly illegally downloading anime videos from the Internet. In the course of Odex's attempt to take actions against home users, the ruling in 2008 by District Judge Ernest Lau's rejecting ODEX's request that Pacific Internet (PacNet) release subscriber data may have established important precedents for protecting online privacy of Internet users. The actions received extensive press and blog coverage, especially as they roughly coincided with similar attempts in the United States by the music industry to enforce against file sharing by home users. Issues of intellectual property, copyright protections and freedom of speech underlie these events.
Since the 2007 controversy, Odex seems to have been hiding from the public and engaging in stealth marketing with Takashimaya, Animax and Anime Festival Asia (AFA). It has been avoiding the use of it logo or company name in its products and events. (circa 2010) For example, in the past two AFA events, Odex took up one of the biggest spaces but the space it occupied was not labelled under Odex name. In 2010's Anime Festival Asia (AFA X), Odex took up the 2nd largest booth under its own name, making a strong presence with anime apparel and merchandise under its license.
Contents
Business model
Odex Pte. Ltd. is a Singapore-based company that licenses and releases anime for local and regional Southeast Asian consumption. It was registered in 1998 to license, import and release overseas drama and animation into Singapore. It began distribution in 2000.
Other than licensing, Odex also does English dubbing, translation and/or subtitling for other companies.
Odex also sells programs to television stations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, such as NTV7, MediaCorp TV12 Central, MediaCorp TV Channel U and Starhub E-City Channel 56 and Animax.
Dubbing and subtitling
Odex's VCDs contain Japanese-language audio. Some releases also include Chinese dubbing. Subtitles are written in both English and Chinese, and are often copied from fansubs that Odex and its employees download (circa 2010).
Their DVD releases include Japanese-language audio. Some titles also ship with Chinese dubbing, and occasionally with dubbing done in English. Subtitling is also available for the DVD releases, containing English, Chinese and Malay subtitling.
Pricing
Odex anime are generally priced below those of United States or Japanese counterparts.
Odex claimed to have attempted to fight anime piracy by offering lower prices for their anime boxed sets. During this promotional period, a 13-episode VCD boxed set was sold for SGD$10 while a DVD boxed set went for SGD$20. However, users on numerous forums including SGCafe, XedoDefense and HardwareZone pointed out that reduced prices applied to only a few (handful) of the Odex anime titles. Further, critics asserted the anime were so old or relatively unpopular that nobody bothered about them. In addition, Odex did little promotion of the reduced prices, so few people knew about them as well.[2]
Odex claimed that revenues for 2006 were half that of 2005, which the company attributed to anime download piracy. Odex said that such piracy led to the company's decision in 2007 to enforce actions against downloaders.[3]
Product packaging
Odex VCD packaging has two silver strips at the top and bottom, with the words Original Japanese Animation along the side with its logo. The VCDs are packaged as square boxed sets, with a CD folder containing six discs with 13 episodes each.
The DVD boxed set is not packaged like the R1 and R2 sets, which come in one disc with two episodes, but as three discs with 12 episodes, using dual-layer DVDs.
History
- 1998 - The company was founded in 1998 in Singapore to license and bring into the region videos ranging from drama to animation of all kinds.[4]
- 1999 - Police raided GamesMart for peddling counterfeit game controllers and other accessories. GamesMart was set up in 1994 by Peter Go, who had earlier started Odex in 1998 and was also director of Odex.[5]
- 2000 - Odex was formed as the animation section of GamesMart. The purpose of Odex was to license and bring Japanese animation into the region. This changed the company's direction by diverting it towards pirating and copying subtitles off fansubs instead of simply pirating games, and this was also the first step in the grand plan of subsequently, when the time was ripe, profiteering via lawsuits by suing anime fans and the use of license-trolling in 2007.
- 2003 - According to the AVPAS website, the Anti-Video Piracy Association of Singapore (AVPAS) is allegedly claimed to have been created in 2003. The Office of AVPAS resides in Odex's headquarters. AVPAS's committee-in-charge is led by Odex directors Peter Go and Stephen Sing.[6] There is no concrete proof of the date of its formation by other sources. The only reliable information regarding its formation and growth is the date of registration of its website in 2007.
- 2007 - AVPAS created a website.[7] Odex sent out letters to alleged downloaders of their licensed anime. The company did not fight video piracy that involved non-anime or non-Japanese films.[8]
- 2007 - Odex demanded alleged downloaders to pay sums of between SGD$3000 and SGD$5000.
- 2007 - On 2 September 2007, The Straits Times stated that the money Odex claimed from downloaders was for "compensation" and that there could be possible profit made.[9] As of October 2010,
one twothree years since then, Odex has still not released any information at all on its use of funds collected, although it stated it had to pay the ISPs for their work.
- 2007 - On 4 September 2007, Odex director Peter Go was exposed by two letters to newspapers that he had been lying to the media when he said:
- - Odex's poor subtitles were a result of tweaking subtitles to conform to BFC's requirements; BFC did not have such requirements
- - that the Japanese and Korean animation industry were dying; those industries were having record growths
- 2007 - Netizens pointed out articles on XedoDefense.org that had analyzed costs related to the cases and gave the possibility that Odex was making millions in profits by making downloaders pay them sums of between SGD$3000 to SGD$5000.[10]
- 2010 - Odex brought its website back up, but only to provide a link to the MobTV website so that visitors can learn more about the Animetrix service that Odex is providing on MobTV. Odex distributed the Gundam 00 movie - A Wakening of the Trailblazer into a single Singapore theatre, released on the same day as Japan. There were two venues screening at Alliance Francaise and at Sinema after the first day premiere in Singapore. However, viewers have remarked that the quality of the screening was subpar, being very lacking in terms of brightness & contrast, audio quality, limited by the respective theatre's capabilities. Odex made a grand presence in Anime Festival Asia X (AFA X), being one of the two largest booths in the event hall. They brought in a wider range of Anime cushions and Anime apparel under their license. They also worked with AFA X organisers to put up the screening of Gundam 00 - A wakening of the Trailblazer and the Haruhi movie - The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya during AFAX.
Controversy and criticism
In reaction to falling sales and evidence of home users' downloading anime videos without payment, in 2007 Odex initiated actions to track users and demand settlement or litigation. It succeeded in gaining court orders for subpoenas for two ISPs to provide them with subscriber data for certain IP accounts. Odex settled out of court with many downloaders, who paid fees in lieu of litigation, ranging from about SGD$3000 to SGD$5000.[11]
In a press conference held on the 30 August 2007, Odex claimed that the crackdown "was meant to be just an enforcement" and not "a profiteering mission to get as much money from everybody." Odex also claimed that there was no fine involved, but about a third of the recipients preferred to settle with Odex for an undisclosed sum.[12] This caused a huge uproar among the online community, as many downloaders claimed that Odex had "threatened them with legal action" should they choose not to pay the fees. On 2 September 2007, The Straits Times stated that the money Odex claimed from downloaders was for "compensation" and that there could be possible profit made.[13] As of February 2008[update], Odex had not released detailed information on its use of funds collected, although it stated it had to pay the ISPs for their work.
There was extensive press and online community coverage of the actions by Odex. The anime community criticized it.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
Initial court hearings between Odex and the first two ISPs (SingNet and StarHub) were done behind closed doors. The newspapers reported that Odex had hired another firm to trace downloaders and their IPs. ODEX was successful in gaining a court order for subscriber data from these two ISPs.
In its third request for a court-ordered subpoena, for records of Pacific Internet (PacNet), ODEX was rejected by District Judge Ernest Lau, who ruled on 23 Aug 2007 they did not have standing as a plaintiff to seek the subscriber records under Singapore's Copyright Act, as they were neither an exclusive licensee nor copyright holder. Lau related the discovery sought to the power of the Anton Piller order, and stated his belief that it should not be easily granted.[26] Lawyers believe this may constitute an important precedent for online privacy, not otherwise specifically protected in Singapore.
Odex appealed to a higher court. On 29 January 2008, Justice Woo Bih Li upheld the lower court ruling regarding lack of standing as a plaintiff by Odex. But he directed PacNet to release subscriber data directly to Japanese anime companies and copyright holders who were party to the case so they could undertake their own enforcement actions.[26] This judgement was praised by critics as a move that protected the privacy of Internet users from a unrightful malicious organisation that had no right to access their private details and also protected the interests of copyright holders by giving the IP addresses ONLY to the rightful copyright owners and not some random malicious organisation like Odex.
Dubbing and subtitles
Odex's subtitling has been criticized by fans of anime for having font with lower quality and sometimes inaccurate translations, as compared to fansubs or imports.
Odex blames the censorship laws in Singapore for inaccurate subbing. Odex stated that they had to tweak subtitles to conform to the Board of Film Censors' (BFC) requirements. However, a BFC spokesperson denied this, saying the board preferred that subtitles be accurate.[27]
There has also been controversy on the statements provided by Odex on its website's FAQ page[28][29] regarding the issue of its subtitles. The statements provided by Odex vastly deviated from the questions asked and did not make sense or provide proper answers. In a perplexing and laughable maneuver to defend its subtitles, Odex attempted to make a link between the following three unrelated ideas: "grammatical errors, inaccurate translations and poor video quality", "discomfort to the various religious and racial groups in Singapore" and "vulgarities and offensive language". The original statements are as quoted below:
FAQ Question: Some people say the frustration with Odex is that its versions have grammatical errors, inaccurate translations and poor video quality and that the fansubs are better.
Odex's Answer: In any translation work, there are slightly different ways to say the same thing and our goal is to provide the most accurate translations possible. We believe we have the most advanced video transfer equipment available in Singapore. Odex respects the guidelines laid down by the Board of Film Censor and thus we also believe in [*]providing subtitles that do not cause any discomfort to the various religious and racial groups in Singapore[*] and thus would take the extra mile to [*]remove vulgarities[*] and tone down any [*]offensive language[*].Website and customer service
Following criticism of its "anti-piracy" actions, Odex set up a forum on its website, stating that the aim was to "foster and improve" relationships between the company and the anime community. Users complained that their questions and opinions were not answered. Also, visitors to the website wrote that Odex's web-pages have been blacklisted and blocked by IP-blocker programs that block malicious sites. They further asserted that Odex's forum used an IP unmasker[30] to check on users. This raised privacy concerns.
After a hacker defaced the website, the company made its official website inaccessible to the public and the forum ended.
Anime exclusively licensed to Odex
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED - only anime to which Odex has exclusive license, as mentioned by the Court Judge during the Odex v Pacific Internet (2007) court case.
Anime sub-licensed and released by Odex
Title Format releases Juuni Kokki VCD Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple VCD Ai Yori Aoshi VCD Angel Links VCD Aria VCD Argento Soma VCD Azumanga Daioh VCD Kouga Ninpouchou Basilisk VCD Black Jack VCD Betterman VCD Boys Be VCD, DVD Bakuretsu Tenshi VCD, DVD Chrono Crusade VCD, DVD Cowboy Bebop VCD Desert Punk VCD D.Gray-Man DVD D.N.Angel VCD Erementar Gerad VCD Fushigi Yūgi VCD Futari wa Pretty Cure VCD Soukyuu no Fafner VCD Fruits Basket VCD, DVD Fullmetal Alchemist VCD, DVD Gankutsuou VCD Gundam Seed VCD Gundam Seed Destiny VCD, DVD Girls Bravo VCD, DVD Gear Fighter Dendoh VCD The Legend of Moby VCD Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary VCD Hunter × Hunter VCD Hunter × Hunter OVA VCD Hunter × Hunter OVA Greed Island VCD Inuyasha VCD Inuyasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler VCD, DVD Inuyasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass VCD, DVD Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time VCD, DVD Infinite Ryvius VCD Kiddy Grade VCD Love Hina VCD, DVD Maburaho VCD, DVD Machine Robo Rescue VCD Magical Princess Yucie VCD Mahoraba - Heartful Days VCD, DVD My-HiME (Labelled as "Mai HiME") VCD, DVD My-Otome (Labelled as "Mai Otome") VCD Monster VCD, DVD Mystical Sleuth Loki VCD Peacemaker Kurogane VCD Rumiko Takahashi Anthology VCD Rumiko Takahashi Anthology - Mermaid Forest VCD Gensou Maden Saiyuki VCD Saiyuki Reload VCD Saiyuki Reload Gunlock VCD Samurai Champloo VCD, DVD Samurai Seven VCD, DVD Tactics VCD Boukyaku no Senritsu VCD Shin Angyo Onshi VCD, DVD To Heart - Remember My Memories VCD Trinity Blood VCD, DVD Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase- VCD Wind: A Breath of Heart VCD Witch Hunter Robin VCD, DVD After War Gundam G Fighter VCD Noein VCD One Piece VCD Pretear VCD RahXephon VCD Serial Experiments Lain VCD Magister Negi Magi VCD MÄR Heaven|MÄR: Marchern Awakens Romance VCD Mobile Suit Gundam the 08MS Team VCD Seto no Hanayome VOD Shaman King VCD Solty Rei VCD, DVD Shakugan no Shana VCD, DVD Sugar Sugar Rune VCD Tenchi Muyo! in Love VCD Tokyo Majin Gakuen VOD Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle VCD, DVD Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha VCD Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's VCD Anime sub-licensed but not released by Odex in any video format
Notes and references
- ^ 'We learnt to be more humble...Yes, we've made mistakes, Chua Hian Hou, The Straits Times/The Star (Malaysia), 2 September 2007
- ^ http://sgcafe.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78, http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/
- ^ "Mr. Go added that the company had no choice, as he claimed that Odex's business had been severely hurt by illegal downloads. -The New Paper, 8 August 2007
- ^ Odex_web
- ^ The Straits Times, 29 Aug 2007
- ^ AVPAS members list
- ^ AVPAS website created on 21 April 2007
- ^ ST Forum
- ^ To counter allegations of profiteering from compensation it had demanded from downloaders, Odex has said it would hire an external auditor to go through its accounts and donate any profit from the exercise to charity. Straits Times, 2007 September 2
- ^ XedoDefense on "Odex:The Number Game - Conclusion"
- ^ "...were made to pay between $3,000 and $5,000 in reimbursement fees to Odex..." -The New Paper, 8 August 2007.
- ^ CNA report on press conference
- ^ To counter allegations of profiteering from compensation it had demanded from downloaders, Odex has said it would hire an external auditor to go through its accounts and donate any profit from the crackdown to charity. Straits Times, 2 September 2007
- ^ "Parents get shock letter", Liew Hanqing, The New Paper, 2 August 2007
- ^ Kicking kids for profit?, Michael Tan, CNet Asia, 16 August 2007
- ^ Anime firm boss gets online death threats, Chua Hian Hou, The Straits Times, 16 August 2007, p. 4
- ^ Victoria Ho (17 August 2007). "S'porean incurs wrath after prosecuting downloaders". ZDNet Asia. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62031019,00.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Ansley Ng (24 August 2007). "Odex loses case against PacNet". Today.
- ^ Chua Hian Hou (2 September 2007). "Online lynch mob". The Sunday Times. http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/9/2/lifebookshelf/18710224&sec=lifebookshelf. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "No challenge is too big for her". The New Paper. 13 February 2009. http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,192711,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ^ Serene Luo (31 August 2007). "Odex defends 'enforcement action'". The Straits Times.
- ^ Liew Hanqing (21 August 2007). "Trash that CD and buy a T-shirt". The New Paper. http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/printfriendly/0,4139,139447,00.html?. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Cheryl Fox (2007-10-15). "Get Rea! - Somebody’s Watching You". =Channel NewsAsia (Singapore). http://www.channelnewsasia.com/getreal/ep9.htm.
- ^ Liew Hanqing (16 August 2007). "Most hated most wanted". The New Paper. http://newpaper.asia1.com/printfriendly/0,4136,138843,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ "Angry anime fans plan defence against legal crackdown: Beware". The Earth Times (Deutsche Presse-Agentur). 17 August 2007. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/94604.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ a b Full text of judgment against Odex
- ^ Comment by Senior Asst. Director of BFC on inaccurate subbing
- ^ Odex FAQ Page
- ^ Odex FAQ Page on the Internet Archive
- ^ http://www.odex.com.sg/forums/viewtopic.php?t=135
External links
- Odex Homepage
- Official AVPAS - Authorized Anime Titles for Singapore
- Archive copy at the Wayback Machine
2001 Title Episodes Title Episodes Boys Be 13 Nanako 6 Fushigi Yuugi TV series 52 Sol Bianca 6 Serial Experiment Lain 13 Tenchi Muyo In Love 2 movie Nazca 12 Battles Athletes 7
2002 Title Episodes Title Episodes Arjuna 13 Love Hina Spring Special Movie Candidate for Goddess 12 Love Hina Christmas Sepcial Movie Dai-Guard 26 Love Hina Episode 25 1 EX-Driver 6 Melty Lancer 6 Fushigi Yuugi OVA 9 Pretear 13 Fushigi Yuugi Eikoden 4 Pretty Guardian 11 Hellsing 13 UFO baby 39 Handmaid May 11 Vandread Stage one 13 Love Hina 24
2003 Title Episodes Title Episodes Ai Yori Aoshi 24 Rahxephon 26 Fruit Basket 26 Hotman ( TBS Drama) 11 Hunter X Hunter 62 Gundam Seed 50 Hunter X Hunter OVA 8 Kasumin/Mistin 26 Kiddy Grade 24 Last Exile 26 Saiyuki 50 12 Kingdoms 4 Super YoYo 22 One Piece ep#01-52 52 Toshiie to Matsu(NHK Drama) 49 Prtit Princess Yucie 26 Vandread Stage Two 13
2004 Title Episodes Title Episodes Scrapped Princess 24 Agento Soma 26 D N Angel 26 Angel Link 13 One Piece 53-104 52 Cowboy Bebop 26 Diamond Dust Drops 13 Witch Hunter Robin 26 Rumbling Heart 14 Mythic Sleuth Loki 26 Godannar 26 Azumanga Daioh 26 Inuyasha ep#1-167end 167 Chrona Crusade 24 Gundam G 49 Burst Angel 25 Betterman 26 Moby dick 26 Infinite Ryvius 26 Operation Sanctuary 8 Big O 13 To Heat 2 13 Wind 8 Inuyasha ( Affections Touching Across Time) 100min Inuyasha (The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass) 100 min Inuyasha (The Sword of an Honorable Ruler) 100 min
2005 Title Episodes Title Episodes Full Metal Alchemist 51 Tactics 25 Hunter x Hunter-Greed Island 8 Shaman King 64 Hunter x Hunter-Greed Island Final 14 Agatha Christie’s Poirot & Marple 26 Saiyuki Reload 52 Desert Punk 24 Monster 74 Gankutsuou (Count of monte Cristo) 24 Maburaho 24 Shin Angyo Onshi 100min Melody of Oblivion 24 Peacemanker Kurogane 24 Girls Bravo 24 Trinty Blood 26 Samurai 7 26 Speedgrapher 24 Machine Robo 53 Black Jack OVA 10 Gundam Seed Destiny 50
2006 Title Episodes Title Episodes Soukyuu no Fatner 26 Get Backers 49 MAhoraba- Heartful Days 26 Samurai Deeper Kyo 26 Love Hina Again 3 Nanoha A’s 13 Jiubei Chan II 13 Black Cat 26 Tsukuyomo Moon phase 26 Magikano 13 Rumiko Takahashi’s Anthology 13 Solty Rei 24 Mermaid Forest 13 Maho Sensei Negima 26 Honey &Clover 26 Basilisk 24 Samurai Champloo 26 Gundam Ms lgloo 3 Mai Hime 26 Mai Otome 26 Tsubasa Chronicles 26 Cluster Edge 26 Snow Queen 35 Noein 26 MAR 52 School Rumble 26 Erementar Gerad 26 School Rumble II 26 Kidou Shinengumi Moeyo Ken TV 13 School Rumble OVA 2 Shakugan no Shana 26 Suzuka 26 Nanoha 13 Peach Girl 26
2007 Title Episodes Title Episodes Glass Fleet 24 Jigoku Shoujo II 26 Witch Blade 24 Karin 24 Hellsing Ultimate OVA 3 Canvas II 24 Utawarerumono 26 Shuffle 24 Jinki Extend 12 Guyver 26 Coyote Ragtime Show 13 Full Metal Panic TSR 13 Muteki kanban Musune 13 The Third 24 Project Blue 14 Demonbane TV Series 24 Black Blood Brothers 13
2008 Title Episodes Title Episodes Melancholy of Haruhi suzumiya 14 Gundam 00 50 Seto no Hanayome 26 Neo Angelique Abyss 26 Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge 26 Skip Beat 26 D.Gray-Man 103 Casshern Sins 26 Zero no Tsukaima 3 13 Tokyo Majin Gakuen 26 Domo Kun 26 Tora Dora 25 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 52 Code Geass I 25
2009 Title Episodes Title Episodes Code Geass II 25 Lucky Star 24 Suteki Tantei Labyrinth 25 Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya II 14 Golgo 13 26 Shakugan no Shana II 24 Juushin Enbu 26 Full Metal Altchemist Brotherhood 63 Bakugan New Vestroia 52 Inuyasha The Final Act 26 Tears To Tiara 26 Hetalia 52
2010 Title Episodes Title Episodes Inuyasha TV Series 167 Gundam 00 Movie 112 min Nurarihyon no Mago 26 Z Gundam Movie I 94 min Mar Season 2 50 Z Gundam Movie II 99 min 07 Ghost 25 Z Gundam Movie III 90 min Disappearance of harihi Suzumiya Movie 84 min King of Thorns 120 min Hetalia Movie 84 min Votoms Movie 118 min Scan2Go 52
2011 Title Episodes Title Episodes Broken Blade I-II-III 6 Detective Canon Movie: Quarter of Silence 90 min Naruto Movie: The Lost Towers 90 min Full Metal Alchemist Movie 90 min Tales of the Abyss 26 Fafner Movie: Heaven &Earth 90 min Chrome Shelled Regios 24 Naruto Movie: Blood Prison 90 min Rental Magica 24 Bakugan III 39
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