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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 21, 2003
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Report: Global Online Population Grew 4% in 2002 to 580 Million
o The Honest Thief: New File-Sharing Service in Holland
o Survey: 40 Million Americans Have Downloaded Online Music
o Group Opposes Penn. Law Making ISPs Block Child Porn Sites from Residents
> DMW Digital Music Forum | March 3 | NYC
> DMW Publications: January Law and Policy Report
o Briefly Noted: Cox - HDTV, Activision - "Empires: Dawn of the Modern
World," Sony Computer Entertainment America - "Dark Cloud 2," Wolfson
Microelectronics - audio codec, FCC broadband vote - reactions, "Enter the
Matrix"
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> Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28 | NYC, Global Entertainment
& Media Summit
> Marketplace: Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services, Game Industry
Report, iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
Full Classifieds located beneath "Briefly Noted" section below.
To post a Classified Ad:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/mainpostingpage.html
or contact Tinzar Than at tinzar@digitalmediawire.com
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o Report: Global Online Population Grew 4% in 2002 to 580 Million
New York -- The global Internet population grew about 4 percent during
2002 to 580 million, with the U.S. accounting for the largest share of
this figure with 29 percent of total Internet users, according to a report
from Internet audience measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings. "Nearly 10
million people over the age of 16 gained Internet access in the U.S.
between the end of 2001 and the end of 2002, significantly more than in
the other 10 markets studied," said Nielsen/NetRatings' Richard Goosey.
Other regions surveyed included several countries in Europe as well as
Hong Kong, Australia and Brazil. Spain, with an increase of 22 percent in
its online population during 2002, and is heralded as "the next great
Internet market" in the report.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030220/sfth043_1.html
http://www.nielsen-netratings.com
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o The Honest Thief: New File-Sharing Service in Holland
Arnhem, The Netherlands -- PGR, a Dutch Internet services company, on
Friday launched "The Honest Thief," a new file-sharing service based in
the Netherlands. The Honest Thief is the first Dutch company to take
advantage of a recent Dutch appeals court ruling that paved the way for
the Netherlands to become the world's first legal haven for file sharing
companies. In March 2002, a Dutch court ruled that users of the popular
Kazaa file-sharing service, and not the company itself, must be held
accountable for any unauthorized trading of copyrighted content within the
country. "With our file sharing service and our new software, we hope The
Honest Thief will become to file sharing what the Swiss are to banking,"
said Pieter Plass, founder of The Honest Thief.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.022103/230525118
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985484.html?tag=fd_top
http://www.thehonestthief.com
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o Survey: 40 Million Americans Have Downloaded Online Music
New York -- Half of all teens and one-fifth of all Americans age 12 and
older report having downloaded a music or MP3 file from a file-sharing
service, according to the latest data from New York-based market research
firm Ipsos-Reid. Nearly ten percent of these report having done so in the
last thirty days. This translates into over 40 million file-sharers within
the current U.S. population (according to 2000 U.S. Census figures). The
survey also found that 25 percent of Americans 12 and older now own a CD
burner, a figure that leaps to 60 percent when polling active
file-sharers. Twelve percent of those polled said they had burned a CD
owned by someone else rather than buy it themselves, with 42 percent of
U.S. file-sharers reporting having done this activity. "As Americans
become more familiar with the inherent music capabilities included in
today's off-the-shelf PC product bundles, they are also experimenting with
PC-based music acquisition and management, as well as mixing and burning
CDs," said Ipsos director Matt Kleinschmit.
http://www.ipsos-reid.com/redirect/pr/1743.cfm
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o Group Opposes Penn. Law Making ISPs Block Child Porn Sites from Residents
Washington -- A digital civil liberties group said that it may mount a
legal challenge to a recent Pennsylvania law that forces ISPs operating in
the state to block a list of 423 child pornography sites determined by the
attorney general's office from its residents. The Center for Democracy and
Technology (CDT) has called the law unconstitutional because it will
unwittingly block other innocent sites, and has asked Pennsylvania
attorney general Mike Fisher for details on the process. One problem with
the statute was evidenced by a recent study by a Harvard University
researcher, which found that in some cases over 900,000 websites may share
the same IP address -- meaning that if one offensive site was among them
the other 899,999 would be blocked from Pennsylvania users as well. "It
would be as if mail delivery for an entire apartment building were stopped
because one tenant was accused of wrongdoing, said CDT staff counsel John
Morris. "We've worked with Web hosting companies and ISPs to ensure that
the illegal and offensive material is taken down and not any legal sites
that may share that space," Pennsylvania attorney general's office
spokesman Sean Connolly told CNET News.com.
http://www.cdt.org/press/030220press.shtml
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/cld/cseuform.cfm
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,57748,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985216.html?tag=cd_mh
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DMW Presents. DIGITAL MUSIC FORUM
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March 3, 2003 | New York City | 9:00AM - 7:00 PM
Full list of speakers and agenda:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events/MusicForum_030303.htm
A full-day forum focusing on business & legal issues impacting the music
industry today. The agenda includes 2 keynote addresses, 4 moderated
panels and breakout sessions.
Featuring: An Interview & Jam Session with the Legendary Les Paul
Confirmed Keynote Speakers:
Lyor Cohen | Chairman & CEO, The Island Def Jam Music Group
Chris Gorog | CEO, Roxio "Why We Purchased Napster"
Steve Rennie | REN Management (Artist Manager for Platinum-selling
Incubus)
And panelists from: Sony Music, MTV/VH1, Roxio, Listen.com, FullAudio,
Moviso, Columbia Records, United Musicians, LAUNCHcast/Yahoo!, pressplay,
Astralwerks/EMI, Morpheus/Streamcast Networks, U.S. Copyright Office,
Electric Artists, Audible, Music Choice, Terra Lycos, AT&T Wireless
February registrations: $200 until February 28
At the door: $250
Pre-Register at: http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1024
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DMW Publications: January Law & Policy Report
==========================================
Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order your
copies.
To purchase directly, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.htm
Digital Media Law & Policy Report - New Issue
Must-read publication on legal and policy matters related to digital
media. 35+ pages of case summaries, news and analysis, policy updates,
court filings, and exclusive interviews with legal counsel and business
leaders.
Published monthly. January issue on sale now!
**Special Reduced Rates available for a limited time**
Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.htm
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==================
FEATURED SECTION
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Featured Section posting at:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/featuredpostingpage.htm
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Briefly Noted:
(Atlanta) Cable TV operator Cox Communications announced on Friday the
launch of high-definition (HDTV) broadcasts in its Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
and Cleveland, Ohio markets. The company also offers HDTV in Omaha, Las
Vegas, Phoenix, Northern Virginia and San Diego, representing 40 percent
of the homes it serves. Initial HDTV Cox channels include HBO, Showtime
and several of the major broadcast networks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030221/215180_1.html
http://www.cox.com
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Game developer Activision announced on Friday that
game designer Rick Goodman's Stainless Steel Studios is currently
developing the historical strategy game "Empires: Dawn of the Modern
World." No platform or release date information was provided. Goodman's
Ensemble Studios previously created "Age of Empires" for Microsoft Game
Studios.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030221/laf014_1.html
http://www.activision.com
http://www.stainlesssteelstudios.com
(Foster City, Calif.) Sony Computer Entertainment America on Friday said
it shipped "Dark Cloud 2," an exclusive PlayStation 2 title, to retailers.
Sony said it will support the game's release with a marketing campaign
spanning national broadcast and print media, gaming publications, websites
and retailers.
http://www.scea.com/games/categories/roleplaying/darkcloud
(Edinburgh, Scotland) Wolfson Microelectronics announced on Friday the
release of its second-generation audio codec for portable digital audio
devices. The WM8750L codec provides a power architecture that is optimized
for handheld and portable digital audio players/recorders, and contains
the input interfacing, output drivers and audio signal processing needed
to integrate audio playback, recording and mixing into smartphones, PDAs
and digital cameras.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/230520015&ticker=
http://www.wolfsonmicro.com
(Washington) A number of news outlets provided analysis of and reactions
to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) decision yesterday to let
states self-regulate with regard to competition among regional Bell
telephone companies, while removing a regulation that made telephone
companies share their lines with broadband providers of services like DSL
at a fixed rate. "Today we may be choking off competition in broadband.
Consumers and the Internet itself may well suffer," wrote FCC commissioner
Michael J. Copps, in a statement opposing the broadband provisions.
http://www.fcc.gov
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/business/21BROA.html
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57755,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-985313.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed
(New York) The New York Times recently reported on the unprecedented level
of collaboration between the upcoming "Matrix" movie sequels and the video
games that are being developed to coincide with their release. With a
reported production budget of $20 million, game developer Shiny
Entertainment's "Enter the Matrix" will feature an hour of new film
scenes; a 244-page "script" written by the Wachowski brothers, who penned
the movie scripts; voiceovers from the films' actors and input from the
set and costume designers and fight choreographer who worked on the
movies. "There are scenes that start in the video game and will complete
the movie," Joel Silver, the films' producer, told The Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/20/technology/circuits/20matr.html
http://www.shiny.com
http://www.enterthematrixgame.com
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobpostingpage.htm
_____________________________________________
====================
CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
====================
To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/eventpostingpage.htm
Digital Media Wire Presents...Games & Mobile Forum
April 2003, New York City
Focusing on games and mobile entertainment opportunities and business
models. Panel topics will include "The Battle to Control the Living Room:
Is the Game Industry Winning?", "Mobile Games: Business Models & New
Opportunities", "Legal & Policy Issues Impacting the Game Industry &
Mobile Entertainment", and "Home Networking: Technology for Modern Living
& Entertainment."
Door Tickets Price: $250. For Early Bird Specials, pre-register at:
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1025
_____________________________________________
Global Entertainment & Media Summit
February 28-March 2, New York City
The Global Entertainment and Media Summit returns to New York City for a
productive three days of conferences, workshops and keynotes all
dedicated to helping to facilitate the growth of our industries. Keynotes
include Danny Goldberg, Dave Marsh, Lee Abrams of XM Satellite Radio and
Jack Healey, of the Human Rights Action Center--formerly of Amnesty
International. The event will feature over 20 productive panel sessions
over the course of the three-day event.
Show dates are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 28, March 1 and March
2. Registration is $75 per person and includes admission to all events.
Details: http://www.globalentertainmentnetwork.com
Schedule: http://www.globalentertainmentnetwork.com/schedule.htm
Tickets: http://www.globalentertainmentnetwork.com/tickets.htm
_____________________________________________
==========================
CLASSIFIEDS - MARKETPLACE
==========================
To Post Marketplace:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/marketplacepostingpage.htm
Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services
Top Credentialed Attorney with 9 years of experience representing major
studios, entertainment start-ups, VCs, investment banks and other blue
chip clients provides legal and business consulting for exclusive
clientele at reasonable rates. Services include entity formation, private
equity financings, licensing (entertainment and software products),
trademark registration and disputes, copyright issues and other
transactional and contract law services. Qualified in California and
Texas. Retainer required to commence services. Tel. 323-363-3620.
_____________________________________________
Game Industry Law & Policy Report
Special industry report covering law & policy matters impacting the game
industry. The 15-page report includes case summaries, news and analysis,
feature article and an exclusive interview with Doug Lowenstein,
President, Interactive Digital Software Association. Price: $19.00
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.htm
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For those who believe in ITV - "Interactive TV: The Definitive Chronicle"
Covering the period 2000 to the present, this sourcebook presents a
complete history of the news and events that have shaped the business of
iTV since the beginning of the 21st Century. Culled from countless
sources, including the Digital Media Wire database, this 175 pages PDF (on
CD) covers all of the major players as well as the legal and financial
issues that helped shape the industry. Key research and industry
projections as well as a host of facts, figures, resources and thousands
of iTV-related links are included. Price: $ 55.00.
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.htm
_____________________________________________
Etronica helps you "Find the Good Stuff FAST!"
Etronica's unique software toolset enables "Interest Based Navigation" of
Digital Content. The Patent Pending software tools can be incorporated
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or integrated as OEM components. The tools drive the automatic tagging,
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highly relevant new information to users as they interact. Personalized
advertising and commerce offerings can also be automatically served.
Contact us to learn more: info@etronica.com
http://www.etronica.com
_____________________________________________
Digital Media Wire, Inc. leverages its integrated media network to provide
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Copyright 2003 Digital Media Wire, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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