Illegal downloads: Singtel provides subscriber details after court order

Illegal downloads: Singtel provides subscriber details after court order

PUBLISHED: 12:57 PM, APRIL 8, 2015
UPDATED: 4:10 AM, APRIL 9, 2015

SINGAPORE — Singtel today (April 8) become the latest Internet service provider (ISP) here to comply with a court order to release the details of subscribers who allegedly downloaded the Oscar-winning film Dallas Buyers Club illegally.

A Singtel spokesperson said today it received the High Court’s order yesterday. It must now turn over requested information, including the names, IC numbers and addresses of subscribers linked to the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses identified, of some 150 subscribers to Dallas Buyers Club LLC, which owns the film’s rights, by the end of the month.

The telco, she said, had received a letter in October last year from Samuel Seow Law Corporation, which represents the United States-based film studio’s suit in Singapore, requesting identities of some of its subscribers.

It had refused to comply with the court order, and engaged a lawyer to contest the order.

Lawyer Edmund Eng from law firm Shook Lin and Bok had argued that Singtel had a legal obligation to keep its customers’ information confidential and requested the court to consider if evidence provided by Dallas Buyers Club LLC was sufficient to support their claims of infringement and compel disclosure of subscribers’ identities. However, the court allowed the order to proceed.

Dallas Buyers Club LLC has reportedly identified more than 500 Singapore IP addresses here through which the movie was said to have been downloaded illegally. Apart from Singtel, both M1 and Starhub, which had also engaged lawyers, were ordered by the court to turn over information about their subscribers.

Over the weekend, letters were reportedly sent to Internet users here asking for a written offer of damages and costs within three days of receiving the letter.

Lawyer Wendy Low from Rajah & Tann LLP said she has received informal queries seeking legal advice and confirmed the letters did not specify the amount of damages sought.

This is unlike the approach taken in the US, where legal action has been threatened against 1,000 Internet users. The users were told they were liable for damages of up to US$150,000 (S$202,500) in court unless settlement fees of up to US$7,000 were paid, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

In Australia, the Federal Court yesterday ordered six local ISPs to disclose the identities of some 4,700 people it alleges infringed the film’s copyrights.

Lawyers TODAY spoke to found it unusual that a settlement amount has not been specified in Singapore. Digital media lawyer Matt Pollins from Olswang Asia noted it is difficult to determine a precise level of damages here as there are fewer past cases of infringement claims against end users, in contrast to the US where benchmarks are more certain.

Under the Republic’s Copyright Act, statutory damages are subject to a ceiling of S$10,000 for each copyrighted work.

Mr Bryan Tan from Pinsent Masons said that the studio might be lending users a hand by allowing them to make offers reasonable to them. “This will also allow them to resolve more cases faster,” he said.

Technology and intellectual property lawyer Han Teng Wah, however, felt legal action is not the best way to deter copyright infringement.

“The people you round up are young and ignorant, they may not know what their legal rights are. The system should move to educate users on how illegal sharing will kill the creative industry,” said Mr Han.



- wong chee tat :)