Issue #72: Digital Me

Welcome to the latest (and last - for now) edition of OiA!

We just wanted to let you know that OiA is going on a hiatus after this edition as we rebrand and reconsider how we can best serve the OiA community moving forward.

Do keep an eye out for our updates which will be issued via this newsletter and also via our LinkedIn page (do follow if you haven’t already done so here!)

We have loved serving the latest legal headlines in APAC for the past 2 years as well as shining the spotlight on some of APAC’s brightest legal stars. If you have any thoughts on how we can improve moving forward, email us by clicking on REPLY to this newsletter.

Here are the latest 🌶 headlines in APAC:

• Australia: Australia’s AVZ Minerals to resume lawsuit against the Democratic Republic of Congo following a failure for parties to reach a settlement over mining rights related to the Manono lithium deposit

• India: India’s National Stock Exchange offers a record USD 160 million settlement to the Securities and Exchange Board of India to resolve a long-running dispute (launched in 2019) and clear the path for its delayed IPO, potentially allowing the world's most active derivatives exchange to go public before May 2026

• India: The Bombay High Court rules that the bulk of Ratan Tata’s undistributed listed and unlisted shares will go entirely to the Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation and Ratan Tata Endowment Trust, settling disputes over the interpretation of his will and reaffirming the late industrialist's commitment to charitable causes

• India: A public interest litigation filed in India’s Supreme Court seeks interim suspension of Air India's entire Boeing fleet following a major crash in Ahmedabad that killed over 270 people

• Japan: Toyota's South Africa Motors’ Japanese insurer Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. files a ZAR 6.5 billion lawsuit against the KZN Department of Transport (DoT), Transnet and the eThekwini Municipality, allegedly based on their failure to maintain flood control infrastructure led to unprecedented damage at Toyota's Prospecton plant during the April 2022 floods

• Malaysia: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission obtains a court injunction against Telegram and two channels, “Edisi Siasat” and “Edisi Khas”, for allegedly spreading content that undermines public trust in national institutions, marking the first civil action of its kind against a social media platform under Malaysia's recently enacted social media laws

• Malaysia: Cypark Resources Bhd withdraws its RM 61.3 million arbitration claim against the Malaysian government after reaching an amicable settlement, formally ending proceedings that sought compensation for delays related to the “Projek Penutupan Selamat dan Pemulihan 16 Tapak Pelupusan Sisa Pepejal di Semenanjung Malaysia”

• Malaysia: The Federal Court unanimously dismisses former MP Maria Chin Abdullah’s leave to appeal application against a Syariah Court contempt order, ruling that existing case law has already established clear jurisdictional boundaries between civil and Syariah courts under Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution

• South Korea: South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries cancels USD 3.54 billion worth of icebreaker ship orders from Russia's Zvezda shipyard, citing “illegal termination by the shipowner” and plans to pursue arbitration in Singapore

• Taiwan: Taipei’s High Administrative Court rules in favour of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau against Taiwan’s Environment Ministry regarding the rescission of TWD 18 million in fines imposed on the Taichung Power Plant for alleged excess coal power generation, though the ministry plans to appeal the decision

Ling Yah

P/S: Know of any interesting seminars happening? Drop us a note at editor@overheard.asia!

P/P/S: Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to find out where you can find the food featured above!

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Reflections on 1988 (Part 2)

Malaysia’s 1988 constitutional crisis remains a haunting reminder of how quickly judicial independence can crumble. When Prime Minister Dr Mahathir suspended Lord President Tun Salleh Abas, the drama escalated: five Supreme Court judges granted an interim order to halt tribunal proceedings on Saturday.

By Wednesday, all five were suspended.

At a recent reunion event, the advocates who represented the targeted judges shared firsthand accounts of those dark days, with current Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun calling it a “blemish” that enabled further judicial interference.

Click the link below to learn more through contributing author Michelle Chew of the Endeavour Advocacy Project, who attended the recent “1988: Reunion of the Advocates” event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Meta Dodges the Bullet (for now)

Meta has just dodged the copyright bullet… for now.

🍿 What Happened?

The case involves high-profile authors like Sarah Silverman, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Jacqueline Woodson, who accused Meta of "massive copyright infringement" by feeding their pirated books into its Llama AI system without permission or payment.

Meta argued that its AI outputs were transformative "fair use" since Llama doesn't reproduce original works verbatim. The authors contended that Meta had knowingly used "shadow libraries" of pirated content, with internal concerns escalating to CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself.

👀 The Recent Ruling

The court dismissed the copyright case but made clear this wasn’t a vindication of Meta's practices. Rather, the authors simply “made the wrong arguments”.

In a 40-page ruling, the judge suggested that AI companies are likely serial copyright infringers and issued what might as well have been an open invitation for better-crafted lawsuits to be filed, noting that these companies expect “billions, even trillions” in profits and can afford to compensate creators.

Looks like we can expect other authors from all over the world to be sharpening their proverbial knives (and pens) moving forward?!

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Metaverse rights in South Korea

A South Korean court has just ruled that insulting avatars constitutes defamation of their real-life operators, setting groundbreaking legal precedent for digital personas.

🍿 What Happened?

The case involved PLAVE, a five-member South Korean virtual boy group whose anime-style avatars are voiced and animated by real performers using motion-capture technology.

When an individual posted malicious comments about the avatars in July 2024, their agency, VLAST, initiated a defamation lawsuit.

The defendant argued the comments weren't directed at real people, but Judge Jang Yoo Jin of Uijeongbu District Court disagreed, ruling that "insulting the avatars may be seen as equivalent to insulting the actual user behind the avatar."

The court ordered KRW 100,000 (USD 73) in damages per member.

👀 Wow

It’s clear that this ruling is going to reshape digital rights in the metaverse moving forward!

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Spotlight: Raphael Kok Chi Ren

“Do or do not, there is no try.” (as a wise old swamp-dweller once said)

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Food Reveal

Fancy some Ma Muang Cheesecake (seasonal Thai mango cheesecake)?

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Are you a student or young lawyer?

Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?

We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at team@overheard.asia! 

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Special thanks to Overheard in Asia’s sponsor:

David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!