Author Giddens Ko (柯景騰) on Tuesday said he did not pursue copyright infringement charges against Apple for approving apps allegedly using pirated content of his works.
Ko, better known as Jiubadao (九把刀 or “Nine Knives”), dismissed local media reports that said that he decided to drop all charges against Apple after having met with legal personnel at Apple’s headquarters in Hong Kong a day earlier.
“I did not pursue charges, so how on earth would I be able to drop them? What are those television reports saying? Didn’t they interview me only moments ago?” he wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday after watching local TV news channels.
Ko’s agent also clarified the situation, saying Apple has removed seven or eight apps reportedly containing pirated content of Ko’s works after the meeting in Hong Kong.
Ko, author and director of the popular film You Are the Apple of My Eye (那些年,我們ㄧ起追的女孩), recently told media he has been filing complaints against Apple for the past two years because several apps on the company’s iTunes Store had infringed upon his copyrights.
However, the US technology giant had not taken the complaints seriously, he said.
The author said that Apple cited difficulty in discerning copyright as a reason for refusing to remove apps that allegedly violated his copyright. Ko added that he has filed an application with the iTunes Store to publish an app he developed with a publishing company to allow users to download 50 of his novels for free.
However, Apple declined his application, saying that that the description of the app was unclear and that it should be listed on iBooks, Apple’s platform for e-books, instead.
Ko’s agent said they were still negotiating with Apple for the app to be made available on the iTunes Store.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three