archives

o Nike Sues Sega for Copying "Frozen Moment" Jordan Basketball Ad
o Suit Seeks Right to Sell Online Roleplaying Game Items On Auction Sites
o Report: Worldwide Digital Cable Subscibers Will Top 46 Million in 2005
o Court Rules "Framing" of Full-Sized Copyrighted Images on Web Illegal
o EarthLink Drops Overture, Picks Up Google As Search Engine Provider
o STMicroelectronics Exiting PC Graphics; Will Focus on DVD, Set-Top Chips
> Digital Media Wire Panel: Interactive Games | Los Angeles | Feb. 27
o Briefly Noted: Sonicblue - Japan, AudioBase - Sprint Local, InterVideo -
IBM, Location-based cell phone games
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o Nike Sues Sega for Copying "Frozen Moment" Jordan Basketball Ad

Beaverton, Ore. -- Footwear maker Nike Inc. has filed a copyright
infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against video game maker Sega
of America and its ad agency Leagas Delaney, over a basketball-themed ad
Nike says Sega copied almost in its entirety. The original Nike ad in
question -- "Frozen Moment" -- ran on TV in 1996 and 1997 and features
Michael Jordan driving and dunking a basketball, interspersing slow-motion
sequences with real-time action. Nike later spoofed its own ad with
"Frozen Penny," a similar ad featuring Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway making
similar moves in a playground pick-up game. In its suit, Nike alleges that
Sega's ad for its "NBA 2K2" video game "copies the sequence, theme, tone,
characters, mood, pace, music and setting of 'Frozen Moment.'" "We believe
the Sega ad has almost no original creative elements that weren't taken in
whole or in part from Nike," said Scott Reames, senior communications
manager for Nike. "It's rather shocking and disappointing to see another
advertiser so blatantly shoplift our intellectual property." Nike is
seeking an injunction on the Sega ad and unspecified monetary damages,
which could include royalty payments from sales of "NBA 2K2." Nike has
provided an online scene-by-scene comparison of the two ads, available at
a link below.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020207/sfth069_1.html
http://www.nikebiz.com/media/n_sega.shtml
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o Suit Seeks Right to Sell Online Roleplaying Game Items On Auction Sites

San Francisco -- BlackSnow Interactive, which runs a website that allows
users to hold online auctions for items gained while playing Mythic
Entertainment's online roleplaying game "Dark Age of Camelot," has sued
Mythic for the right to hold such auctions independently of the company.
Virginia-based Mythic, and other companies such as Sony with its
"EverQuest" online game, have asked sites like EBay to remove auctions of
items from their games. Both games allow users to trade items using
virtual currency, but frown upon players seeking actual money for items
and characters they have accumulated while playing the game. "[The lawsuit
is] basically seeking a judicial declaration as far as the rights of
online gamers to trade outside the game," Steven Krongold, an attorney
representing the founders of BlackSnow, told CNET. Krongold also told CNET
that he believes such transactions do not violate any copyrights, since no
actual goods exchange hands.
http://www.camelotexchange.com/PressRelease.asp
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-832347.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.darkageofcamelot.com
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o Report: Worldwide Digital Cable Subscibers Will Top 46 Million in 2005

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Growth of services such as video-on-demand, personal
video recorders, interactive TV and electronic program guides will spur
the total number of worldwide households with digital cable subscriptions
to reach 46 million in 2005, according to a study published on Friday by
Sunnyvale-based research firm Multimedia Research Group. The study shows
that worldwide growth of digital cable set-top boxes should exceed $5.3
billion in annual sales in 2005, driving the worldwide installed base to
over 53.2 million. Multimedia Research Group predicts that most new
digital cable subscriptions will come from large multi-system operators in
Europe, North America and Asia where aggressive programs have begun to
deploy these new digital services. The firm also estimates that cable TV
providers that launch video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand and
personal video recorder functionality can achieve profitability on these
services within 12-18 months.
http://www.mrgco.com/PressReleaseArchive.html#anchor308986
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o Court Rules "Framing" of Full-Sized Copyrighted Images on Web Illegal

Washington, D.C. -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that
full-sized copyrighted photographs cannot be taken from one website and
"framed" to appear as though they originated on another site, Newsbytes
reported. The case involved image search engine provider Arriba, now known
as Ditto.com and photographer Leslie Kelly, who sued Ditto.com when the
site appropriated his copyrighted images as part of its search results.
Ditto.com lets users search the Web for images, and returns results that
include smaller "thumbnail" versions of images, as well as links to the
full-sized originals. But instead of linking to the original Web page
where the image is located, Ditto.com's results place elements of its own
site on top of and around the Web page where the image originates, making
it appear as though the page resides on Ditto.com. The case has been
remanded to a lower court to determine if an injunction is necessary, and
what if any monetary damages Ditto.com owes Kelly.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174326.html
http://www.ditto.com
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o EarthLink Drops Overture, Picks Up Google As Search Engine Provider

Atlanta -- Internet access provider EarthLink has named Google as its
preferred search engine provider, ousting previous provider Overture.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Google will provide
its search results to EarthLink users who perform Web searches from the
EarthLink website, as well as from each member's personal start page and
other areas. In addition, Google will provide search results for customers
searching EarthLink's site. Shares of Overture, formerly known as
GoTo.com, fell 41 percent on news of EarthLink's decision to switch search
engine providers. Overture also provides search engine services for
Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020207/70378_1.html
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o STMicroelectronics Exiting PC Graphics; Will Focus on DVD, Set-Top Chips

Geneva -- STMicroelectronics, a manufacturer of chips used in consumer
electronics, announced on Friday that it will no longer produce chips used
in PC graphics and is seeking a buyer for its PC Graphics business. The
unit brought $15 million in revenue in 2001. The company said the move is
part of its intention to focus its digital consumer market business on
developing and manufacturing chips for digital set-top boxes, DVD players
and digital TV.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020208/72636_1.html
http://www.st.com
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THE CARMEL GROUP’S CONVERGENCE 2002 SERIES - Get in the Game!
A Video Game Industry Focus

The Carmel Group predicts that by year-end 2002, 40% of U.S. homes will be
equipped with a video game system, increasing to 51% by 2005. Attend this
informative event on Tuesday, February 19, from 6-10pm at the Crowne Plaza
Cabana in Palo Alto, CA, to find out how and why the industry is
flourishing in the current economy. Participants include, Canal+
Technologies, Vivendi Universal, Stormfront Studios, DirecTV, IGDA, CTAM,
NATPE and GAMEproducer.com. Digital Media Wire subscribers attend for only
$50 – use promotional code DMW.

For more info or to pre-register visit:
http://www.carmelgroup.com/conferences/conferences.cfm
or contact info@carmelgroup.com or 831-643-2222.

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> Digital Media Wire Panel Discussion: Interactive Games on the Internet
Recent Developments and New Business Opportunities

Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Location: Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills

MODERATOR:
- Victor Hwang, COO of LARTA (the regional technology alliance for
Southern California)

PANELISTS:
- Tracy Fullerton, President of Spiderdance
- Chris Kantrowitz, Co-Founder of The Groove Alliance and
President of 7ate9 Productions
- Mark Kapczynski, Principal Consultant, Microsoft
*Other panelists to be announced.

Sponsored by LARTA

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAgames2.html

Sponsorships: Ned Sherman at 323/464.0793
or esherman@digitalmediawire.com

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o Briefly Noted:

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Japanese market research firm BCN reports that
consumer electronics firm Sonicblue's products were the top-selling
digital audio players in Japan during 2001. Santa Clara-based Sonicblue's
Rio line of CD and flash memory-based digital audio players outsold
similar products from competitors including Sony. The report tallied its
figures based on monthly sales reports from 575 Japanese computer and
electronic retail stores.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020208/82073_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com

(Sausalito, Calif.) AudioBase, a provider of streaming audio software,
announced that Sprint Local will use its software on its website to direct
customers seeking information on local phone service with automated audio
prompts. Sausalito-based AudioBase estimates that approximately 95 percent
of Web users will automatically be able to hear its audio content without
having to download any special software or select a particular media
player or connection speed.
http://www.audiobase.com/inc/company/pr020702.php
http://csb.sprint.com/home/local/index.html

(Fremont, Calif.) InterVideo, a provider of DVD playback software for PCs,
said on Friday that IBM will include its WinDVD software with its ThinkPad
R Series of laptop computers. Fremont-based InterVideo also said that
additional ThinkPad and NetVista computers will be shipping with WinDVD at a later date.
http://www.intervideo.com

(San Francisco) Wired News published a feature article on Friday covering
location-based cell phone games. Available in countries including Sweden
and Denmark, the battle games allow users to target one another using GPS
cell phone technology that can pinpoint another player's location within
several hundred meters. Companies including Sweden-based It's Alive and
Denmark-based Unwired Factory currently offer the games, which charge
users each time they make a move in the game. It's Alive has also launched
a location-based game in the U.K., and plans to soon launch games in
Ireland.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,50205,00.html
http://www.itsalive.com
http://www.unwiredfactory.com/
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Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire