[Ubuntu-SG] Should we "Say No to Piracy"?
Tom Goh
tomgohj at gmail.com
Mon Jun 22 18:59:55 UTC 2009
Muhammad Heidir wrote:
> On Mon, 2009-06-22 at 16:11 +0800, suhaw koh wrote:
>> Hi Tom,
>>
>>
>> A quick response to your point about multi-region DVD players:
>>
>>
>> The Digital Life article by Alfred Siew you quoted was published in
>> 2004, prior to the amendment of the laws. Check out this FAQ from
>> IPOS website:
>> http://www.ipos.gov.sg/topNav/leg/pub/pas/FAQ+for+USSFTA
>> +Consultation.htm
>>
>>
>>
>> What if a person purchased and used a multi-coded player for films
>> e.g. DVD player? Would that also be considered an act of
>> circumvention?
>> No. There is also an express provision in Section 261C(10) allowing
>> for import or sale of devices whose sole purpose is to control market
>> segmentation for access to films e.g. multi-coded DVD player.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> As for the more recent Nov 2008 DL article about Sim Lim raids that
>> Chew quoted, they are specifically about modifying devices to
>> circumvent access control measures, ie modifying the Wii machines to
>> play pirated software.
>>
>>
>> Cheers.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> suhaw
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 2009/6/22 chewearn <chew4097 at gmail.com>
>> Caveat: IANAL.
>>
>> Check out this article:
>> http://www.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20081117-101233.html
>>
>> Especially the last paragraph, quote:
>> "It is illegal under the Copyright Act to
>> 'circumvent...technological access control measures'. Those
>> convicted face up to $20,000 in fines or up to two years'
>> jail, or both."
>>
>> I leave it to you to make the appropriate conclusion.
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Chew
>>
>>
>> 2009/6/22 Tom Goh <tomgohj at gmail.com>
>>
>> Just did a search and I may be wrong about fair use in
>> singapore.
>>
>> http://computertimes.asiaone.com.sg/columns/story/0,5104,2804,00.html
>>
>> The Free Trade Agreement with the United States
>> obliges Singapore to
>> tighten up copyright laws by this year. Singapore's
>> stand, fortunately,
>> is an enlightened one.
>>
>> An important clause in the proposed changes states
>> that it is not
>> illegal to disable technology used for 'market
>> segmentation'. It ensures
>> that multi-region DVD players are okay to use here.
>>
>> It does not specifically state anything about
>> Singapore and decss.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> suhaw koh wrote:
>> > Hi All,
>> >
>> > Seeking your thoughts/inputs/advice on the following
>> idea.
>> >
>> > Further to the Schools project idea.
>> >
>> > Since a key tenet of this project is to reinforce
>> the students'
>> > awareness and respect for IP rights, I was thinking
>> of enlisting the
>> > assistance of IPOS.
>> >
>> > At there website, I came across the HIP (Honour
>> Intellectual Property)
>> > Alliance at this url:
>> > http://www.ipos.gov.sg/topNav/prg/gen/HIP+(Honour
>> +Intellectual+Property)+Alliance.htm
>> >
>> > It describes the Alliance thus:
>> >
>> > "HIP Alliance Members
>> >
>> > The HIP Alliance members include organisations
>> involved in creative arts
>> > and the creative industries, international
>> organisations, industry
>> > bodies and private sector players that believe in
>> Singapore's message to
>> > Say No to Piracy."
>> >
>> > I was just wondering if TUSG should sign up to be a
>> member of the
>> > alliance ? I know it is not quite what was
>> envisaged, but I believe
>> > TUSG should be a strong supporter of "Singapore's
>> message to Say No to
>> > Piracy".
>> >
>> > What do you think ?
>> >
>> >
>> > suhaw
>> > --
>> > ________________________
>> > Koh Su Haw 许树浩
>> > http://suhaw.teresaville.org/
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ubuntu-SG mailing list
>> Ubuntu-SG at lists.ubuntu.com
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-sg
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ________________________
>> Koh Su Haw 许树浩
>> http://suhaw.teresaville.org/
>> Tel : +65 6236 8194
>
> Hi,
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong. But this is what they meant:
>
> 1) As long as the media is purchased legally, then having a multi-coded
> DVD player is fine. May I conclude that, if you bought the DVD legally,
> and decide to rip it and save it as a backup, then it is ok. But if you
> share, sell or distribute then it is not ok.
Well this is a very grey area in many countries as it has not been
tested in many court systems. Seems that from previous emails it is in
fact illegal in Singapore to rip/circumvent content scrambling
technology in DVDs
>
> 2) Then if you build, sell or distribute systems that enable illegally
> obtained/pirated media to run, then it is considered an act of
> circumvention.
Circumvention means you use technology like decss which was a reversed
engineered and probably a brute force attack on the encryption
algorithm. It was written without license from the owners of the DVD
content scrambling company
>
> Does these affect us joining the alliance then?
>
From my perspective yes. The patent and copyright system is broken.
The site is the singapore patent office, which takes after the USPTO,
which is even more severely broken. Believe me I worked for a Patent
busting company in the US. It is a complete mess. Look at what
Microsoft does when it wants to squash an open source company. They
bust in on the FAT32 file system.
> Canonical/Ubuntu does not do those stuff. In anyway, there are totally
> Open Source solutions which are legal. I don't see any issue in having
> us a part of this alliance but more to adding credibility.
Yes but $90 USD is not a reasonable amount to spend for technology like
DVD and Mp3. especially when it is not guaranteed to be forward compatible
>
> Your views?
>
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