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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 27, 2003
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Justice Dept. Seizes iSONEWS.com for Illegal "Mod Chip" Sales
o Butterfly.net, IBM to Run PlayStation 2 Online Gaming "Grid"
o 321 Studios Files Motion Against Movie Studios In DVD Copy Software Case
o Infogrames Sells Film/TV Rights for "Driver" Game to German Producers
> DMW Digital Music Forum | March 3 | NYC
> DMW Publications: January Law and Policy Report
o Briefly Noted: Netflix - 1 million subscribers, SoapCity.com, AOL -
Savage Beast Technologies, Thomson - TV over ADSL, LodgeNet, Immediatek -
LCD Interactive, Internet Streaming Media Alliance, "Kung Fu Chaos,"
Monolith Productions - "TRON 2.0," Carnie Digital, Yahoo - The Eagles,
Congress - universities' P2P abuse, The White Stripes - "Elephant" tracks
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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 Justice Dept. Seizes iSONEWS.com Under DMCA for Illegal "Mod Chip" Sales
Washington -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has
"seized" the website www.iSONEWS.com as part of a criminal Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prosecution, for its role in the sales of
"mod" chips that enable video game systems to play pirated games. Site
owner David M. Rocci, 22, of Blacksburg, Va., pleaded guilty in Dec. 2002
to conspiring to import, market and sell mod chips in violation of the
DMCA. According to the DOJ, the iSONEWS site had over 100,000 registered
users and provided information about copyright infringement and piracy,
including up-to-date listings of all of the latest pirated games that were
available. "This case is another example of our dedication to enforcing
the intellectual property laws of this nation online," said Paul J.
McNulty, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "Whether you
are engaged in conduct like David Rocci or you are purchasing mod chips to
play pirated games, you should stop." Rocci is due for sentencing on March
7, and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $500,000
fine.
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/February/03_crm_118.htm
http://www.isonews.com
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o Butterfly.net, IBM to Run PlayStation 2 Online Gaming "Grid"
San Jose, Calif. -- Butterfly.net, a developer of online gaming
technology, said on Thursday that it has teamed with IBM to create a
first-of-its-kind "computing grid" for the online component of Sony's
PlayStation 2. The grid consists of clusters of game servers using common
standards that are connected to one another via the Internet; online games
created to these open standards will be able to draw resources-on-demand
from the Butterfly Grid. Traditionally, online games have segmented
players onto separate servers, limiting the number that could interact and
halting game play when a server was down. West Virginia-based
Butterfly.net and IBM will demonstrate the PS 2 grid at the Game
Developers Conference next week in San Jose, Calif.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030227/275116_1.html
http://www.butterfly.net
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o 321 Studios Files Motion Against Movie Studios In DVD Copy Software Case
St. Louis -- 321 Studios, provider of the controversial DVD X Copy
software that has been sued by Hollywood movie studios for facilitating
piracy, said on Thursday that it has filed a motion to counter the
studios' motion for summary judgment in the case. 321 says its software
lets users make perfect copies of DVDs they have purchased as backups. The
company initially sued the movie studios in April 2002, and then was
countersued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by the studios in
December 2002. "This is a lawsuit about rights; First Amendment and
consumers' fair use rights," said 321 Studios' attorney, Daralyn Durie.
Studios that have filed suit against 321 include MGM, TriStar Pictures,
Columbia, Time Warner Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Universal City
Studios and Saul Zaentz Company.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/230585049&ticker=
http://www.321studios.com
http://www.dvdxcopy.com
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o Infogrames Sells Film/TV Rights for "Driver" Game to German Producers
New York -- French video game publisher Infogrames said on Thursday that
it has optioned the film and television rights to its "Driver" video game
franchise to Constantin Film, a German independent production and
distribution company. "Driver" has sold 12 million units worldwide, and
"Driver 3" is due for release in the fall. Impact Pictures, a subsidiary
of Constantin, is slated to begin production in 2003; the film is being
developed for Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) to direct from a
screenplay by James DeMonaco, Todd Harthan and James Roday (The
Negotiator). Constatin Film's credits also include "The Neverending Story"
and "The Name of the Rose."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030226/nyw031_1.html
http://us.infogrames.com/games/driver_psx/
http://www.constantin-film.com
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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
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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:
(Los Gatos, Calif.) Online DVD rental firm Netflix announced on Thursday
that it has surpassed one million subscribers. Launched in 1998, Los
Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix offers subscribers who pay a $19.95 monthly
fee their choice of 13,500 DVDs to rent, which are mailed to them in
postage-paid mailers. "We are excited and proud to have reached the one
millionth subscriber level in record time while still early in the
consumer adoption curve," said Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings. The
company also recently announced the opening of a new shipping center for
its Arizona customers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030227/sfth038_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030226/sfw018_1.html
http://www.netflix.com
(Culver City, Calif.) Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment's soap
opera-themed site, SoapCity.com, has announced the availability of
PC-based subscription video-on-demand services for its "The Young and the
Restless" and "As the World Turns" daytime serials. For $9.99 per month or
$1.99 per episode, subscribers may view commercial-free soaps an unlimited
number of times using the RealOne Player, for up to 28 days.
http://www.soapcity.com
(Oakland, Calif.) America Online said on Wednesday that it has struck a
deal with Oakland-based Savage Beast Technologies to use that company's
music search and recommendation technology across its music properties,
including the recently launched MusicNet service. The software will run
various navigation and personalization features, allowing users to search
catalogs for songs musically, build custom playlists and design a
personalized search engine.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030226/265228_1.html
http://www.savagebeast.com
(Paris) Digital video electronics manufacturer Thomson announced on
Thursday that it is currently participating in two trials of delivery of
broadcast television over ADSL. Nextream, a joint venture between Alcatel
and Thomson, has developed a real-time MPEG2 encoder that enables the low
bit-rate compression required to broadcast TV content over ADSL. One trial
is testing this TV over ADSL solution with the TF1 Group in 200 French
households, while another will test video-on-demand over ADSL with 300
Monaco Telecom customers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030227/275328_1.html
http://www.thomson.net
(New York) LodgeNet, a provider of in-room interactive TV and broadband
services to hoteliers, said that it currently offers interactive TV
features in 30 percent of the 340,000 hotel rooms it serves, and plans to
grow this figure to 55 percent by the end of 2004. "Not only has the
lodging industry overwhelmingly embraced our new system, it is generating
per-room revenues that are 37 percent greater than our traditional analog
platform -- a factor that will drive increasing revenue and cash flow for
our company over the next several years," said LodgeNet president and CEO
Scott C. Petersen.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030225/cgtu034_1.html
http://www.lodgenet.com
(Richardson, Texas) Immediatek, a Texas-based provider of automation
software, announced that it has acquired technology from LCD Interactive
that enables the download of standard MP3 files directly to a CD burner
"while simultaneously protecting the artists' copyrights." Immediatek said
it has already signed agreements to license the technology to several
independent music labels, and is actively pursuing licensing deals with
popular online music sources and major record labels.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030227/275431_1.html
http://www.immediatek.com
http://www.twobigtoes.com
(Mountain View, Calif.) The Internet Streaming Media Alliance, an alliance
of firms including Apple, IBM, Philips and Sun, said on Thursday that it
is assembling a panel of outside experts to advise it on key issues,
including the protection of digital content and rights management
concerns. The panel, to be chaired by industry expert Philip Engelhardt,
will be comprised of members representing a cross-section of sectors,
including the entertainment and medical communities, government, academia
and private industry.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpL2BubKbytuYmdu
http://www.isma.org
(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft Game Studios has released "Kung Fu Chaos" for
the Xbox, dubbing it a "'70s-style brawler" with a "madcap cast of kitschy
characters." The title was developed by Just Add Monsters (JAM), a recent
acquisition of U.K.-based independent developer Argonaut Games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030226/sfw036_1.html
http://www.justaddmonsters.com
http://www.kungfuchaos.com
(Burbank, Calif.) Disney Interactive said on Thursday that "TRON 2.0" for
PC -- based on the classic Disney sci-fi film -- is currently in
development at Kirkland, Wash.-based Monolith Productions, and has been
given a release date of Aug. 26.
http://www.lith.com
http://www.disneyinteractive.com
http://www.tron20.net
(Springfield, Mass.) W.A.M. Management has launched Carnie Digital, a new
digital music download site that offers Microsoft-encrypted "EM3" files of
songs for sale. The company did not announce licensing agreements for any
content, but said it will pay artists 70 percent of net proceeds generated
from each download. Massachusetts-based W.A.M. will also pay 5 percent of
its own net proceeds to children's music charities.
http://www.carniedigital.com
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Yahoo announced on Thursday that it has partnered
with The Eagles to create the band's first endorsed fan club. For a $60
annual fee, members can purchase advance premium concert tickets for the
band's upcoming "Farewell I" tour, as well as access exclusive audio and
video content, tour diaries from band members and an Eagles LAUNCHcast
station.
http://eagles.yahoo.com
(San Francisco) CNET News.com recently reported on a Congressional hearing
held Wednesday, where lawmakers charged universities with not being harsh
enough with students with regard to the unauthorized trading of
copyrighted music and movies on P2P networks on campuses. "While I'm
sympathetic to the young people, they're breaking the law," said Rep.
Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). "Until the university or this committee is going
to do something about it, we're wasting everyone's time." "There is a
consensus that has emerged," said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) "Virtual
unanimity should be a message to those testifying today that we are
reaching a point at a bipartisan level that we want to stop this illegal
activity."
http://news.com.com/2100-1028-986143.html?tag=cd_mh
(New York) Sympathy For The Record Industry/V2 Records artists The White
Stripes are offering fans that own any or all of their three albums the
chance to preview tracks from their upcoming "Elephant" album, due out on
March 31. Users go to their site and insert a White Stripes CD into their
PC. This prompts a small plug-in to be installed that to verify the CD is
authentic, at which point a track from the new album becomes available for
streaming. The fan-oriented email promotion takes a small jab at the
file-sharing networks in its copy: "I know a lot of you all have already
heard parts of if not the whole album "Elephant" elsewhere on the net
(dang pirates...), but we have a special little thing going on at
whitestripes.com."
http://www.whitestripes.com/about.html
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
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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
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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
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CLASSIFIEDS - MARKETPLACE
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Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services
Top Credentialed Attorney with 9 years of experience representing major
studios, entertainment start-ups, VCs, investment banks and other blue
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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
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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
directly into content websites and portals, installed in TV settop boxes
or integrated as OEM components. The tools drive the automatic tagging,
indexing, and categorization of text. A recommendation engine suggests
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
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Copyright 2003 Digital Media Wire, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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