Daniel was asked to pay copyright fees amounting to about $3,000
for reproducing the published articles on his very own cupcake
business on his company website
and social media accounts.
How can?
Ex-DJ Daniel Ong says
he is not worried about SPH blacklisting them over the copyright
tussle. (Photo courtesy …
Konan Shum read this
Former radio deejay-cum-successful entrepreneur
Daniel Ong says he was "shocked" when he was
asked to pay copyright fees to
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).
Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore on Sunday, the 36-year-old
said, "Jaime and I have been in the media for over 20 years, we've
always shared stories they wrote about us."
Ong, a Perfect 10 deejay and television host earlier in his
career, quit radio in 2010. He and his wife, 2001 Miss Universe
Jaime Teo, whom he married in 2007, now run a successful
cupcake business called
Twelve Cupcakes. Launched last year, it now has four
outlets.
After he was approached and granted several interviews to
The Straits Times and The New Paper, he was
shocked when asked to pay copyright fees amounting to about $3,000
for reproducing the published articles on his cupcake business on
his company website and social media accounts.
Even after volunteering to take down the said articles, Ong was
still told to pay S$214 as "investigation fee" for legal costs
incurred by SPH.
The incident has left a bitter taste in his mouth and he is now
campaigning for greater transparency about the issue of copyright
claims on behalf of other celebrities and small and medium
enterprises (SMEs).
Ong said many friends, even strangers, had approached them to
share similar experiences since he recounted
his experience on Facebook on Thursday. They also told him that
SPH "never went after them for the S$214" after they took down the
infringing articles, even though they were also billed an
"investigation fee".
He also clarified that he and his wife are still on good terms
with several SPH journalists after they explained to him it is
another department in charge of copyright claims.
But is he worried about being blacklisted by the publisher
then?
"It's alright," Ong shared. "We were celebrities, but that's not
our livelihood anymore."
"Not everyone reads the papers nowadays, they're not the only
way news can get out. I dare say Mr Brown and Xiaxue combined will
be equivalent to their readership."
Added Ong, "It's a changing world, and I hope that they see that
as well."