archives

o Napster Says it May Not be Liable for Damages on Alleged Infringements
o Authors to Protest Used Book Marketing by Amazon.com
o BMI Increases Reach of International License for Websites
o Estate of Frank Zappa Sues EMusic Over Copyrights
o Interactive Television Developer Gotuit Gets Investment from Motorola
o AOL Time Warner Invests in Interactive Television Developer GoldPocket
o Digital Rights Management Firm MediaDNA Seeks Buyer
o Disney Decides to Keep Go.com Portal in Business
> Digital Media Wire: NYC & DC Interactive Games Panels
o Briefly Noted: eAudio, RightSpring, Wink Communications - Turner
Broadcasting System, Wireless Knowledge - Versaly Games, Trymedia Systems,
Sony Electronics, Listen.com - Crunch Fitness - Rounder Records,
Concurrent Computer Corporation - Federal Hill Communications, LodgeNet
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> Job Postings: Account Executive, Asst. Marketing Mgr./Internet, Music Titler

> Events/Services: "Artesia Digital Asset Management Seminar"

Full Job/Event descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section or at
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html
To Post an Event: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o Napster Says it May Not be Liable for Damages on Alleged Infringements

Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster CEO Hank Barry told reporters Monday that
a loophole in the injunction against the company may exempt it from having
to pay damages for alleged copyright infringements, Inside.com reported.
Barry said that because the ruling asks for the recording industry to
provide filenames along with its list of song titles in order to be
removed from its system, the industry's original requests -- which do not
include filenames -- should not be considered official, and therefore
damages sought for them could not be collected. The company also said that
46,037 of the submissions for song-blocking sent by Sony to Napster on
Friday were not valid because they did not include filenames. Counsel for
the RIAA will likely oppose any efforts by Napster to use this argument to
evade paying damages, which would reach into the billions. CNET reported
on Tuesday that Napster has hired song database provider Gracenote to help
it identify and block songs from its service.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=25705&pod_id=9
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5122544.html?tag=mn_hd
http://www.gracenote.com
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o Authors to Protest Used Book Marketing by Amazon.com

Seattle -- The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers
sent a letter to Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos in December, which asked the
company to end its practice of advertising used book prices alongside new
copies of the titles. The company has not changed its practice since
receiving the letter. Wired News reported on Tuesday that at the Guild's
annual meeting last week, executive director Paul Aiken said that a formal
protest by authors against Amazon.com would begin soon. "As a leader in
the bookselling industry, Amazon's sales practices can have a
significantly deleterious effect on new book sales," reads the original
letter sent by the Authors Guild to Bezos. "If your aggressive promotion
of used book sales becomes popular among Amazon’s customers, this service
will cut significantly into sales of new titles, directly harming authors
and publishers." When asked about the impending protest, Amazon
spokeswoman Kristen Schaefer told Wired News, "We absolutely care about
the Author's Guild and hope that we can find a middle ground because we
basically believe everything we're doing is for the good of authors and
publishers," said Schaefer. "Selling used books helps get new authors new
readers, and anything that encourages customers to keep reading and keep
buying books, we feel that is a good thing."
http://www.authorsguild.org/pramazon1200.html
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,42350,00.html
http://www.amazon.com
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o BMI Increases Reach of International License for Websites

New York -- Performing rights organization BMI announced on Tuesday that
it has entered into agreements with 15 additional performing rights
organizations, which will make it easier for websites offering music to
receive licenses for broadcasting music in foreign countries. Performing
rights organizations such as BMI and ASCAP collect royalty payments for
individual music publishing companies, which in turn compensate
songwriters for their efforts. In addition to its current license that
covers the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany and France, BMI's
license will now also cover Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland,
Japan, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Chile, Denmark, Finland,
Indonesia and Malaysia. The new countries will be retroactively added to
licensing agreements dating back to January 1, 2001.
http://www.bmi.com
https://dlc.bmi.com/dlcmenu.asp
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o Estate of Frank Zappa Sues EMusic Over Copyrights

Redwood City, Calif. -- The widow of late musician Frank Zappa has filed a
copyright infringement lawsuit against downloadable music retailer
EMusic.com, alleging that the company has not obtained the publishing
rights to distribute her husband's music, CNET reported. EMusic said it
sold a small number of Zappa MP3s in 1999, but has since pulled them from
its site. EMusic also said that it has agreed to pay royalties for the
songs and was in negotiations with Zappa's wife and estate when the suit
was filed. "It is unfortunate that the Zappa estate has chosen to pursue
legal action on an issue that represents such an extremely small dollar
amount," the company wrote in an e-mail to CNET. However, damages awarded
for copyright infringement of the 37 songs in question could equate to
over $41 million. Redwood City-based EMusic recently filed a copyright
infringement suit against Napster for allowing its users to trade EMusic
songs on its file-sharing service.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5112971.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.emusic.com/about/pr/pr155.html
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o Interactive Television Developer Gotuit Gets Investment from Motorola

Andover, Mass. -- Gotuit Media, a developer of customized media delivery
for interactive television and Web radio, said that it has received an
undisclosed equity investment from Motorola as part of its second round of
funding. Motorola will also support Massachusetts-based Gotuit's
personalized video technology in its set-top boxes for interactive
television. Gotuit's technology allows users to record TV or radio
programs, to which the company then adds extra data that enables users to
skim through the recorded programs and choose what they want to watch or
listen to.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010312/nym060_2.html
http://www.gotuit.com
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o AOL Time Warner Invests in Interactive Television Developer GoldPocket

Medford, Mass. -- GoldPocket Interactive, a developer of software for
interactive television, announced on Tuesday that it has received an
undisclosed investment from AOL Time Warner Investments.
Massachusetts-based GoldPocket's technology enables users to interact with
one another and access enhanced television programming. AOL Time
Warner-owned HBO is using the company's technology for its new weekly
sports magazine show hosted by Bob Costas. GoldPocket has raised $55
million in total funding since January 2000.
http://www.goldpocket.com
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o Digital Rights Management Firm MediaDNA Seeks Buyer

La Jolla, Calif. -- MediaDNA, a developer of digital rights management
technology, said that it has enlisted the investment bank Software Equity
Group to aid in seeking a buyer for the company. The company is seeking an
acquisition that will provide it with an established sales staff for its
software. "Following a strategic assessment the Board concluded that, in
current market conditions, the optimum way to up-scale the business in an
accelerated time frame will be to combine with a larger company that
already has a well-defined and visible customer base and an established
sales organization that can quickly deploy our products and services,"
said Ralph Koehrer, CEO of MediaDNA. La Jolla-based MediaDNA's digital
rights management technology provides protection against piracy for video,
audio and text.
http://www.mediadna.com
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o Disney Decides to Keep Go.com Portal in Business

North Hollywood, Cailf. -- The Walt Disney Company said that in an effort
to take advantage of Web traffic still flowing to its recently shut down
Go.com portal, it will keep the website open using another company's
search technology, the Associated Press reported. The company said that
searches made on Go.com will be powered by GoTo.com, and that instead of
original content the site will feature links to other Disney-owned sites
like ESPN.com and ABCNEWS.com. "We can maintain the page at very little
cost by taking feeds from our other sites," Disney Internet Group
spokeswoman Michelle Bergman told the AP. The company laid off 400 workers
when it announced in January that it was closing Go.com.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=25702&pod_id=13
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> Digital Media Wire: NYC & DC Interactive Games Panels

New York City -- "Interactive Games on the Internet"
MODERATOR:
-Billy Pidgeon, Analyst, Jupiter Research

FEATURED SPEAKERS:
-Greg Costikyan, Founder & Chief Design Officer, Unplugged Games
-Frank Lantz, Sr. Game Designer, gameLab
-Joseph Varet, VP BizDev & Strategy, The Groove Alliance
*Additional panelists TBA.

Date: Wednesday, March 28th, 2001
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCgames.html

------------

Washington, D.C. -- "Interactive Games on the Internet"
FEATURED SPEAKERS:
-Phillip Campbell, Chief Creative Director, Quantic Dream
-Larry Cotter, CEO, Sandbox.com
-David Levine, CEO, Butterfly.net
-Doug Lowenstein, President, Interactive Digital Software Association
*Additional panelists TBA.

Date: Thursday, April 5th, 2001
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCgames.html
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o Briefly Noted:

(Austin, Texas) eAudio, an online retailer of digital audio-related
products, on Tuesday announced the launch of its e-commerce site.
Austin-based eAudio -- a division of chipmaker Cirrus Logic -- sells MP3
players, sound cards, peripherals, drivers, audio software and games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010313/2120.html
http://www.eaudio.com
http://www.cirrus.com

(Los Angeles) RightSpring, a provider of online music and photo licensing,
on Tuesday announced the launch of its service. The service offers a way
for film, television, print, radio and advertising professionals to obtain
synchronization and master rights for music by major artists and
songwriters, and commercial reproduction rights to photographs by renowned
photographers. Los Angeles-based RightSpring said its initial offerings
include music from the Beastie Boys, Dixie Chicks and Johnny Cash.
http://www.rightspring.com

(Alameda, Calif.) Interactive television developer Wink Communications has
extended its agreement with Turner Broadcasting System to provide
technology that enables enhanced content, advertising and e-commerce for
TBS networks. The two-year agreement will use Wink technology for channels
including CNN, TNT and TBS.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010312/sfm103_2.html
http://www.wink.com

(San Diego) Wireless Knowledge, a joint venture between Microsoft and
Qualcomm, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with wireless
infrastructure provider Versaly Games to create mobile gaming software.
The technology -- which will be marketed to wireless carriers -- will
support multiplayer gaming and will also let users download digital
pictures, video and music. It will be integrated with Microsoft's
"Stinger" platform that combines functions of its PocketPC with cell phone
technology.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010313/0031.html
http://www.versaly.com
http://www.wirelessknowledge.com

(San Francisco) Trymedia Systems announced on Tuesday the launch of its
peer-to-peer content control and monetization software, ActiveMARK. The
first artist to agree to use the service is former Napster featured artist
tobyslater. San Francisco-based Trymedia's technology lets artists and
companies offer song files on a peer-to-peer network but makes users pay
through a pay-for-play, subscription, value-added or merchandising and
data model. The company says its software will also secure and provide
compensation for songs traded through email.
http://www.trymedia.com/press/archive/031301.htm

(San Jose, Calif.) Sony Electronics announced on Tuesday that it will
begin shipping its new "double density" recordable CD drives and
corresponding discs in April. The discs can record and store 1.3GB of
data, roughly twice the 650MB that can be stored on a conventional CD-R. A
spokeswoman for Sony said that the double density discs will not be
playable in standard CD players, but that the media may be supported in
newer players. The drive is expected to retail for $249, while the discs
will cost $1.99.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/210720137&ticker=
http://www.sel.sony.com

(New York) Listen.com said on Wednesday that it has signed agreements to
create custom Web radio stations for the Crunch Fitness chain of gyms and
also for Rounder Records. The Crunch stations will be played at all Crunch
locations nationwide. RounderRadio.com will feature a network of stations
programmed by Rounder Records' employees and artists including the Cowboy
Junkies, Juliana Hatfield and Burning Spear.
http://www.listen.com/home_rdir.jsp
http://www.crunch.com
http://www.rounder.com

(Atlanta) Concurrent Computer Corporation, a developer of video on-demand
systems, said on Tuesday that it has partnered with Federal Hill
Communications to negotiate and license Hollywood feature film content for
its service. California-based Federal Hill's clients include Motorola, Sun
Microsystems and Sprint.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010313/0082.html
http://www.ccur.com
http://www.federalhill.com

(Sioux Falls, S.D.) LodgeNet, a provider of broadband Internet access and
interactive entertainment services for hoteliers, said that it will add
music videos on-demand to its offerings. The videos will be provided by
Digital Music Network, which also supplies digital music files for an
audio on-demand service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010312/mnm026_2.html
http://www.lodgenet.com

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Job Postings:
===================================================
To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> World Wrestling Federation, Account Executive - New York City

Internet advertising sales candidates will possess strong entrepreneurial
work habits, at least two plus years media sales experience (including at
least one year selling ".com" advertising), and have established
advertising contacts at both the advertiser direct and agency level. Send
resumes to:
resume@wwfent.com
http://www.wwf.com
______________________

> Forbes Magazine, Asst. Marketing Mgr./Internet - New York City

Opportunity to work on Forbes Magazine¹s Internet subscription programs.
You'll have reporting & analysis responsibilities and assist in creating
internet promotions. Proficiency in Excel required. Strong analytical,
organizational and planning skills, plus 6+ months consumer marketing
preferred. Send resumes to:
jobs@forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com
______________________

> BuzzHits, Inc., Music Titler - San Francisco

BuzzHits is a technology & services provider that delivers mobile impulse
response solutions for advertising purposes. Quickly & accurately identify
title and artist of songs played on Country or R&B/Oldies format. Ability
to "Name the Tune" in 5 notes or less - 100% accuracy. 2 years radio, DJ
and/or music background preferred. Send resumes to jobs@buzzhits.com
http://www.buzzhits.com

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Event Postings:
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Artesia, Digital Asset Management Seminar -- SF, LA, Atlanta, NY, DC

Did you know that the average ROI for an enterprise Digital Asset
Management solution is between 9 and 18 months? Artesia Technologies
invites you to a free seminar on digital asset management. Our discussion
will include up-to-the-minute analysis presented for the first time and
speakers from The GartnerGroup, analyst Frank Gilbane and PwC. San Fran
on 3/8, LA on 3/9, Atlanta on 3/13, New York City on 3/14, and DC on 3/16.
Send inquiries to personalseminar@artesia.com
To register go to http://www.artesia.com/seminar/index1.html
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