Odex, PacNet back in court for closed-door hearing
By Zul Othman, TODAY | Posted: 29 November 2007 0012 hrs

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	Related News • Odex pursues quest to book illegal anime downloaders

SINGAPORE : Pacific Internet (PacNet) subscribers who downloaded pirated anime may not be let off so easily, even if Odex loses its case.

The anime distributor was back in the High Court on Wednesday, in a closed-door hearing at which lawyers for Odex and Pacific Internet concluded their arguments as to whether the distributor had the right to apply for access to the names of the 1,000 subscribers.

In August, Odex had a court bid to compel the Internet service provider to reveal these names.

The judge then ruled that the company was only a sub-licensee for anime titles and had no right of civil action.

Under the Singapore Copyright Act, only copyright owners or an exclusive licensee for the anime being downloaded can take legal action.

But this time, the various Japanese copyright owners of the anime titles are ready to get into the fray.

According to Odex's lawyer, they have also made an application to join in as parties if the court decides that Odex is not the correct party to make the application for pre-action discovery against Pacific Internet.

Justice Woo Bih Li is reserving judgement, which will be revealed at a later date.

Odex director Peter Go said no date has been set for the ruling but his company is willing to wait.

Pacific Internet declined to comment. - TODAY /ls