archives

o Judge Suspends Case While Napster, Labels Talk Settlement
o Report: Verizon Set to Launch First 3G Services in U.S. Next Week
o U.K. Judge Says Evasion of 'Regional' Copyright Controls Is Illegal
o Interactive TV Firm OpenTV Laying Off 57 Employees
o Digital Rights Management Firm ICopyright Raises $1 Million
o Audiogalaxy File-Sharing Software Downloads Contained Spyware
o Briefly Noted: OD2 - Orange France, TechTV, AOL - NSync, Walt Disney
Internet Group - KDDI, Bam Entertainment - Aardman Animations, Pace Micro
Technology - The Contents Company, FoxSports.com - Motorola
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o Judge Suspends Case While Napster, Labels Talk Settlement

San Francisco -- Napster's ongoing legal battle with the recording
industry was officially put on hold Wednesday, giving the two sides a
month to try to negotiate a settlement. The federal judge presiding over
the case has suspended the litigation brought against Napster by all
parties -- except major label EMI Recorded Music -- until Feb. 17. "We are
optimistic that the good faith efforts that the parties have put into
settlement and licensing discussions over the past several months will
bring the litigation to a swift conclusion over the next several weeks,
removing the last barrier to Napster's launch of our new membership
service," said Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers. "Since re-launching a few weeks
ago, we understand they have limited their repertory to licensed music,"
Recording Industry Association of America CEO Hilary Rosen told The New
York Times. "Resolving the lawsuit may now be feasible." Napster was sued
for copyright infringement by all of the major record labels; damages
resulting from the suits could potentially cost Redwood City-based Napster
billions of dollars.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/24/technology/ebusiness/24NAPS.html
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,49977,00.html
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o Report: Verizon Set to Launch First 3G Services in U.S. Next Week

San Francisco -- CNET reported on Thursday that wireless network operator
Verizon Communications plans to launch third-generation (3G) wireless
services in the U.S. as early as next week. Service will reportedly be
available between Virginia and Boston, in areas including New York and
Washington, D.C., as well as in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. New 3G
wireless services enable much faster data transfer speeds, making
streaming video and other multimedia functions possible on cell phones and
laptops equipped with wireless modems. No information was given with
regard to pricing or the exact bandwidth capacity of New York-based
Verizon's new network. Sprint PCS has said it will launch its own 3G
wireless network this summer.
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-822051.html
http://www.verizon.com
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o U.K. Judge Says Evasion of 'Regional' Copyright Controls Is Illegal

London -- A British High Court judge has ruled that a company selling
software that enabled games not authorized for play in the U.K. to work on
Sony PlayStations there was breaking the law and is subject to fines,
TheRegister.co.uk reported on Thursday. In effect, the ruling makes it
illegal for European consumers to buy DVDs or games overseas and then play
them at home by using some kind of circumvention software. The judge found
that Channel Technology violated the Copyright and Patents Act 1988 with
its modulator that makes overseas PlayStation games playable on U.K.
versions of the console. "Sony licensed games for the territory that they
were issued, the licensing of these games did not allow for their use in
other territories, therefore whether they were imported for private and
domestic use by personal purchase for instance via the internet, or
purchased abroad on holiday, they were not allowed by Sony to be played
outside of the licensed territory, this argument should be upheld." Sony
was awarded summary judgment against Channel Technology, which was ordered
to pay legal fees and damages of $21,000.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/23814.html
http://www.channeltechnology.com
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o Interactive TV Firm OpenTV Laying Off 57 Employees

Mountain View, Calif. -- In reporting 51 percent revenue growth over 2001,
interactive TV developer OpenTV on Thursday also announced a restructuring
that will result in the termination of 57 of its employees. OpenTV will
also consolidate some of its operating facilities; the company will take a
total charge of $9.1 million during the first quarter of 2002 to account
for the restructuring. Mountain View-based OpenTV develops operating
system software and other applications for the set-top boxes that are used
to deliver interactive TV services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020124/240449_1.html
http://www.opentv.com
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o Digital Rights Management Firm ICopyright Raises $1 Million

Renton, Wash. -- ICopyright, a provider of digital rights management
technology, has raised an additional $1 million as part of its second
round of financing. Rustic Canyon Ventures led the investment, with
participation from Bradley Resources Company and the company's existing
shareholders. Washington-based ICopyright, some of whose assets were
purchased in April 2001 by Data Depth Corporation, develops software that
helps online newspapers and magazines manage their online licensing and
reprints businesses. "This funding will enable us to accelerate our
leadership position in content licensing for newspapers and magazines. We
expect to double the number of publications using ICopyright in 2002,"
said CEO Mike O'Donnell. The company's customers include CBS
MarketWatch.com and Newsweek online.
http://www.icopyright.com
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o Audiogalaxy File-Sharing Software Downloads Contained Spyware

San Francisco -- Users who have downloaded the popular Audiogalaxy
file-sharing program may have also inadvertently installed a program that
tracks what websites they visit and collects information filled out in
online forms, Wired News reported on Thursday. A company called VX2
arranged for its software to be included with Audiogalaxy program
downloads for a short time during October last year. The software is
similar to spyware called "ClickTillUWin" that was bundled with downloads
of other file-sharing programs such as BearShare and Kazaa. VX2's program
is capable, however, of reporting back sensitive data such as credit card
numbers to the company. "If such data were -- despite VX2's best efforts
-- ever inadvertently collected, VX2 would immediately purge such
information from its database," reads an online copy of the company's
privacy statement. The VX2 website includes a form that visitors can fill
out to have their personally identifiable data removed from the company's
database.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,49960,00.html
http://www.vx2.cc
http://www.audiogalaxy.com
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Larta Panel Session -- TONIGHT @ USC
"Digital Cinema: Hollywood's Emerging Challenge"

Speakers for this discussion at The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital
Arts at USC will include Dean Elizabeth Daley of the USC School of Cinema
and Television, Bob Dowling, Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, Ken
Williams, President, Technicolor Digital Cinema, Michael Karagosian,
Digital Cinema Consultant and other leading executives.

For more information:
http://www.larta.org/Research/HollywoodUnstrung.asp

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o Briefly Noted:

(Bristol, England) OD2, a provider of digital music distribution services,
announced that it has designed a mobile phone music download service for
Orange France, a wireless network operator. The service will be available
through Orange France's mobile website, where users can browse musical
selections by entering their email address. An email is then sent to a
user's PC, containing a link that will trigger the selected download. The
service from Orange France is being billed as a test of interest in mobile
download services and will be available only for a limited time.
http://www.ondemanddistribution.com/eng/press/pressdetails.asp?id=167
http://www.orange.fr

(San Francisco) TechTV chairman and CEO Larry Wangberg announced on
Thursday that he will step down from his position as CEO to pursue other
interests. Wangberg will remain on the company's board and will head up
the search for a new chief executive for the twenty-four hour
technology-related cable TV network. San Francisco-based TechTV is owned
by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan, Inc.
http://www.techtv.com/aboutus/forthepress/pressreleases/story/0,23350,3369397,00.html

(New York) America Online has formed a promotional relationship with pop
group NSync. Under the terms, AOL members will get the chance to order
advance tickets to concerts as well as pre-order new material from the
group. NSync content on AOL will also include listening parties, song
lyrics, and videos to "behind-the-scenes" clips, video production, band
tours and an online NSync radio station. The band's members will record
"You've Got Mail" sound bites and AOL's services will be recommended on
the NSync website. The partnership comes after Microsoft failed to renew a
similar agreement with the band that expired in November 2001.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgibin/f_headline.cgi?bw.012302/220232387&ticker=AOL
http://www.nsync.com

(North Hollywood, Calif.) Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) said on
Thursday that it has partnered with KDDI, the second-largest telco firm in
Japan, to distribute wireless entertainment content to KDDI subscribers in
Japan. Under the agreement, WDIG will provide images, ringtone melodies,
news and e-cards featuring Disney characters on KDDI's "Disney-ez" site,
accessible via KDDI's au and Tu-Ka EZweb wireless Internet platforms.
North Hollywood-based Walt Disney Internet Group has similar deals with
NTT DoCoMo and J-Phone, two other leading wireless operators in Japan.
http://psc.disney.go.com/corporate/press/wdig/wdig/2001/2002_0124_wdig.html
http://www.kddi.com

(Bath, U.K.) Video game developer Bam Entertainment announced on Thursday
that it has formed a licensing and publishing partnership with Aardman
Animations, creators of short film claymation hits like "Chicken Run" and
"Wallace and Gromit." Under the terms, U.K.-based Bam will create games
based on multiple Aardman properties for multiple platforms, the first of
which being a "Wallace and Gromit" console game due in 2003.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020124/sfth047_1.html
http://www.bam4fun.com
http://www.aardman.com

(West Yorkshire, England) Pace Micro Technology, a developer of set-top
boxes and other interactive television technology, announced on Thursday
that it will provide set-top boxes to Korea-based The Contents Company's
(TCC) Internet-based multichannel TV service. TCC's service will offer
video-on-demand, broadcast TV and IP gaming along with news and
educational services. U.K.-based Pace has integrated the 12,000 character
Korean font and text input methods into its device, which will be deployed
early this year into multi-dwelling units around Seoul.
http://www.pace.co.uk

(Los Angeles) FoxSports.com said on Thursday that it has partnered with
wireless device manufacturer Motorola and wireless software developer
Proteus to offer football-related interactive TV accessible through
wireless devices. Virtual Coach lets viewers vote on action and
controversial moments in the game as well as make other predictions over
the Internet. During timeouts called in the midst of NFL playoff games,
users can access football-themed versions of online games like "Smush" and
"You Don't Know Jack," developed by Chicago-based Jellyvision.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020124/hsth024_1.html
http://www2.foxsports.com/motorola
http://www.proteus.com
http://www.jellyvision.com
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