Let off the Hooq? Not these filmmakers

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hello reader,

“We’re not gonna get screwed over by them, right?” Haresh Tilani asked a friend who had informed the Singaporean filmmaker of Hooq’s liquidation in March 2020.

More than three years on, Tilani still hasn’t received their payment for the content commissioned by Hooq.

He represents just one of countless Asian production houses and filmmakers scurrying to recover their funds from the Singapore-headquartered joint venture by Singtel, Warner Bros, and Sony Pictures.

Given the heavyweights that backed Hooq, these unfortunate filmmakers were perhaps lulled into a false sense of security. They were comfortable enough to sign contracts with Hooq Mauritius, a subsidiary of Hooq Singapore.

The different jurisdiction made it even harder for these content creators to receive any money.

Unpaid dues, however, aren’t the only Hooq-related headache its creditors face. Today’s featured piece also brings to the fore the confusion surrounding intellectual property rights.

Further, the premium story dives deeper into the Hooq’s “messy” liquidation process and why a firm that was close to buying the video streamer’s IP rights didn’t go through with it.

Today we look at:

• How Hooq, a Singtel-backed video streamer, left its creditors hanging dry
• The latest funding round of Travelio, “Indonesia’s Airbnb.”
• Other newsy highlights such as OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, looking for office space in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Premium summary

Left hanging

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Corporate talk generally doesn’t sit well with the public, especially in sensitive matters. It tends to lack emotion and is very to the point – just how investors like it.

Props for proptech

Join us and share the hardest challenges you’ve faced as a founder

Quick bytes