Ianrotull’s Weblog

 

According to a recent press release, gaming super power Square Enix is cracking down on manufacturers and distributors of sword replicas based on their hit Final Fantasy series. Square Enix’s focus seems to be based mainly in the United States, as the organization has filed a federal lawsuit in the central district of California to seek damages against those parties targeted for infringement. In an official statement from Square Enix: 

“While Square Enix appreciates the enthusiasm of its fans, and values its relationship with them, it is also obligated to protect its intellectual property rights or risk weakening or losing the very rights that enable the company to continue to provide its fans with an exciting entertainment experience.” 

 

 This topic is an interesting tie in to our day 5 discussion of copyright cases. Although this is defined in a different context than the Perfect 10 case (entailing a completely media based organization now crossing the bounds into non-digital content to defend its IP), its still a case of one entity trying to cover every base to keep its content as its own. Time will tell how deep the grounds for infringement are though, as many of these replica manufacturers have given Square Enix the cold shoulder.

 

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-29/singapores-odex-wins-appeal-for-anime-downloaders-ids 

 

At the end of last month, Singapore based ISP Pacnet was ordered to reveal the names of alleged illegal downloaders of anime (japanese animation) content. Singaporean based sublicensee Odex served as the plaintiff in this case. In a high Court decision conducted by justice Woo Bih Li, Pacnet was ordered to provide the downloaders’ identities, but also ruled that Copyright holders instead of Odex themselves had to take direct action. Interestingly enough, Odex does not hold either Copyright or exclusive licenses to many of the anime titles mentioned in their complaint.

 

This case serves as an interesting tie in to our talks in class 5 about how much responsibility an ISP has in protecting user identity. Interestingly enough, the legal system is becoming more rigid instead of adjusting with the times. Instead of changing, higher punishment declarations

and identification demands are intensifying.

 

 

 

Microsoft has found itself knee-deep in fan rage, as three Texas residents slammed them with a class action lawsuit for disruption of the Xbox live service during the holidays, and similarly claiming a breach in the Xbox live terms of use contract. The suit claims the outages exceed $5 million in damages.

 

Lawsuits like these (as conceptually touched on in class 7) serve as further evidence of just how extraneous the current digital law system can get. Although the plaintiffs in this case may very well have valid grounds, exorbitant claims such as these illustrate the amazing number of system holes through which someone can take a digital copyright or breach issue and milk it for all its worth. Just as the current digital legal precedent is struggling with the new user climate its found itself in, user’s are similarly able to exploit holes in a fledging system.