archives

o SightSound's Patent Suit Against Bertelsmann Units Moves Forward
o Sirius Satellite Radio Launches Service in Four Cities
o Bill Would Exempt ISPs from Liability for Criminal Actions of 'Net Users
o Online Movie Ticket Retailer Fandango Signs Exclusive Deal With Loews
> Digital Media Wire Panel: Interactive Games | Coming to L.A. and S.F.
o Briefly Noted: Senate hearing - MPAA/RIAA testimony, Bam Entertainment -
"Driven," Infineon Technologies - PacketVideo - Sci-worx, Creative Planet
- Movie Magic Technologies, Slashdot marriage proposal
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o SightSound's Patent Suit Against Bertelsmann Units Moves Forward

Mount Lebanon, Pa. -- SightSound Technologies, a retailer of audio and
video downloads, announced on Thursday that a federal judge has allowed
its patent infringement suit against Bertelsmann subsidiaries CDNow and
N2K to go forward. The suit relates to patents that Pennsylvania-based
SightSound first applied for in 1988, which cover the electronic
distribution and sale of digital video and audio recordings. The recent
ruling out of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Pennsylvania states that the sale of media over a "telecommunications
line" to which SightSound refers in its patent -- which was filed before
the Internet as we know it now even existed -- should not exclude the
Internet as a possible interpretation. The ruling has implications for
music subscription services such as MusicNet and Pressplay, where users
pay a fee to download songs over the Internet. "We are pleased that after
nearly four years of litigation, this first major decision by the court is
so positive," said Christopher Reese, executive vice president and general
counsel for SightSound Technologies. "Essentially, the court has
confirmed, by endorsing our claim construction in all important respects,
that the patents mean what they say." The case is expected to go to trial
during the next year.
http://www.sightsound.com
http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US05191573__
http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US05675734__
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-837901.html
_____________________________________________

o Sirius Satellite Radio Launches Service in Four Cities

New York -- Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered
digital radio to consumers, on Thursday began its nationwide rollout with
service launches in Denver, Houston, Phoenix and Jackson, Mississippi. The
service launch kicked off in Jackson with a live performance from country
singer Randy Travis, and included on-air appearances from newscaster Sam
Donaldson, Ozzy Osbourne, Nathan Lane and Grandmaster Flash. New
York-based Sirius' $12.95 per month service offers 60 channels of
commercial-free music and 40 channels of news and other content. Sirius
has deals to offer its receivers in cars made by Ford, Chrysler, BMW,
Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Volvo, Mazda, Dodge and Jeep. Sirius receivers made
by Kenwood, Panasonic, Clarion and Jensen will be available at retailers
including Circuit City, Best Buy, Good Guys, Tweeter, Ultimate Electronics
and Crutchfield. Sirius rival XM Satellite Radio completed its nationwide
rollout in November and to date claims 30,000 subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020214/nyth040_1.html
http://www.siriusradio.com
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o Bill Would Exempt ISPs from Liability for Criminal Actions of 'Net Users

Washington, D.C. -- New legislation introduced by Rep. Robert Goodlatte
(R-Va.) would exempt Internet service providers from liability for any
criminal actions committed by their subscribers. The Online Liability
Standardization Act of 2002 would add criminal liability to the protection
ISPs already enjoy from civil liability for content posted by a third
party, under both federal and state law. Goodlatte brought the legislation
in response to a recent case where an ISP was charged with facilitating
child pornography because an online bulletin board that could be accessed
through its service offered pornographic images. The sole qualifier to the
exemption from liability would be when a senior employee at the ISP has
knowledge of the criminal activity. If enacted, the bill would be a blow
to the entertainment industry's effort to crack down on file-sharing
services; the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), for instance,
has contacted numerous ISPs asking that their users' accounts be
terminated due to their alleged criminal violations of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act. The MPAA argues that ISPs should be considered a
"contributory infringer" because they provide the pathway by which movies
are uploaded and downloaded from the Internet.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174444.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-837137.html?tag=cd_mh
_____________________________________________

o Online Movie Ticket Retailer Fandango Signs Exclusive Deal With Loews

Hollywood -- Fandango, an online retailer of advance and print-at-home
movie tickets, announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Loews
Cineplex Entertainment to become the exclusive provider of online movie
ticket sales for the theater chain. Loews began its relationship with
Hollywood-based Fandango in June 2000, and since then has wired more than
1,170 screens nationwide for the service. Its Manhattan theaters also
offer print-at-home movie ticketing, a feature Fandango plans to expand
nationally. Loews operates a total of 2,563 screens in 294 locations,
primarily in major cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
In addition to Loews, Fandango also provides online ticket sales for
Carmike Theatres, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Edwards Theatres,
General Cinema Theatres and Regal Cinemas.
http://www.fandango.com
http://www.loewscineplex.com
_____________________________________________

o Online Ad Firm Doubleclick Signs Three-Year Deal With Bertelsmann

New York -- Doubleclick, a provider of online advertising technology,
announced on Thursday that it has signed a three-year deal to license its
technology to German media firm Bertelsmann. Financial terms of the deal
were not disclosed. The agreement will give all Bertelsmann subsidiaries
access to New York-based Doubleclick's ad serving and marketing email
delivery technologies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020214/142221_1.html
http://www.doubleclick.com
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STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002: April 23-26, Los Angeles Convention Center

Streaming Media West 2002 is the World’s Largest Digital Media Technology
Event, featuring an extensive exhibition floor and an intensive four-day
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West is the premier event for business and technology professionals to
conduct business, discover the latest advancements in streaming and
digital media and forge valuable relationships.

Join us in Los Angeles and discover for yourself the business and
technology of streaming and digital media!

For your FREE Exhibition pass or to save $200 on your full Conference pass
visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west
Or contact register@streamingmedia.com or 888 301-8890

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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
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For more info or to pre-register visit:
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Or contact info@carmelgroup.com or 831-643-2222.

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_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Los Angeles) Both the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have posted their
CEOs' Tuesday testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
international intellectual property theft. The MPAA's Jack Valenti
testified that "the potential undoing of America's greatest export trade
prize… is the theft of movies in both the analog and digital formats,"
adding that the movie industry loses $3 billion annually to theft. RIAA
CEO Hilary Rosen testified that IFPI figures show that "the [annual] sale
of pirate recordings exceeds $4.2 billion," adding that, "this number does
not include losses due to Internet piracy."
http://www.mpaa.org/jack/2002/2002_02_12a.htm
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=484

(San Jose, Calif.) Game developer Bam Entertainment said on Thursday that
its first title for Nintendo's GameCube video game console will be based
on last year's Franchise Pictures release "Driven," which starred
Sylvester Stallone. The GameCube title will be released in North America
in March and will ship simultaneously with the launch of the GameCube in
Europe.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020214/sfth032_1.html
http://www.bam4fun.com

(Munich) Infineon Technologies, a developer of wireless semiconductors,
announced that it has partnered with wireless video technology developer
PacketVideo and Sci-worx to integrate the three companies' technologies.
The resulting combination will provide wireless terminal manufacturers
with a single solution for multimedia content encoding, distribution,
transmission and decoding. Munich-based Infineon said that the technology
alliance will speed up the rollout of cell phones capable of streaming and
downloading audio and video.
http://www.packetvideo.com/press/view.asp?id=203
http://www.infineon.com
http://www.sci-worx.com

(Los Angeles) Creative Planet, a provider of software and services for the
film and TV production industries, announced on Thursday that the company
is changing its name to Movie Magic Technologies. "Our new name builds on
our brand recognition and the stability of our Movie Magic products such
as Budgeting and Scheduling that have been recognized as industry standard
tools for over ten years," said newly promoted CEO Kelyn Brannon-Ahn.
http://www.moviemagictechnologies.com

(Holland, Mich.) Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda, founder of technology news site and
message board Slashdot, proposed to longtime girlfriend Kathleen Fent by
way of the Slashdot website on Thursday. "I wanted to do this in this most
potentially embarassing [sic] way possible, and I figured doing it here
and now, in front of a quarter of a million strangers was as good a way as
any… Will you marry me?," Malda wrote. The subject line of Kent's
response, posted on Slashdot fifteen minutes later, read, "Yes." The body
of the message: "Dork. You made me cry. :)"
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/02/14/143254
http://www.fent.net
______________________

> DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES:
"Interactive Games on the Internet: Recent Developments and New Business
Opportunities"

Join leading executives and professionals in the digital media industry at
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LOS ANGELES: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills

Confirmed panelists include Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of YaYa; Tracy Fullerton,
President of Spiderdance; Victor Hwang, COO of LARTA; Chris Kantrowitz,
Co-Founder of The Groove Alliance and President of 7ate9 Productions; Mark
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For more information and to register for the Los Angeles event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAgames2.html

SAN FRANCISCO: Tuesday, March 12, 2002, The City Club of San Francisco

Confirmed panelists include Greg Kasavin, Executive Editor of GameSpot;
Chad Richards, CEO of NoizePlay; Mark Surfas, Founder, Chairman and CEO,
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For more information and to register for the San Francisco event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/Sfgames2.html

Sponsorships and Inquiries: Ned Sherman at 323/464.0793
Or esherman@digitalmediawire.com
______________________

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______________________

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______________________

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Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire