archives

o Penn. Law Makes ISPs Liable If Child Porn Sites Not Blocked From Users
o Judge: AOL Not Responsible for Unauthorized E-Books On Its Servers
o Terra Lycos First Portal to Launch Paid Online Games Service
o Zomba Recording Corp. to Release Albums in DataPlay Format
o Briefly Noted: Qualcomm - Sony Online - THQ, Digital Bridges - color
wireless games, InterTrust - Mitsubishi, Impulse Media Technologies -
Portal Software, Fandango, Sirius Satellite Radio - NHL, Liberate
Technologies - Omne Communications, Merriam-Webster, On2 Technologies -
Japan, Gameloft - Qualcomm, Versaly Games - Sprint PCS, GameSpy - top 30
game industry figures, Wilco
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o Penn. Law Makes ISPs Liable If Child Porn Sites Not Blocked From Users

Harrisburg, Pa. -- The state of Pennsylvania has passed a law that will
make it a crime if ISPs operating in the state do not block their users'
access to child pornography websites, the Associated Press reported. Under
the law, which goes into effect in April, the state attorney general's
office will have the responsibility of informing ISPs of which sites to
block. However, since such sites often are targets of law enforcement,
they frequently change their Web addresses and operate overseas. ISPs
violating the law will be fined $5,000 for the first offense, $20,000 for
the second and $30,000 and up to seven years imprisonment for any further
violations.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/725968.asp?0dm=C14OT
_____________________________________________

o Judge: AOL Not Responsible for Unauthorized E-Books On Its Servers

Los Angeles -- A judge has ruled that Internet service provider America
Online is not liable for unauthorized versions of e-books that were housed
on servers owned by the company, citing protections for ISPs provided by
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA shields ISPs from
such lawsuits if they remove the content in question after being contacted
by the copyright owners. Author Harlan Ellison sued AOL when a fan posted
whole versions of his books on a newsgroup hosted by AOL. Ellison also
sued the fan and newsgroup host, but both of those cases have been
settled.
http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/CACD/RecentPubOp.nsf/bb61c530eab0911c882567cf0
05ac6f9/47819ca5ada002af88256b7c006a4494?OpenDocument
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-862849.html?tag=cd_mh
_____________________________________________

o Terra Lycos First Portal to Launch Paid Online Games Service

Waltham, Mass. -- Global Internet network Terra Lycos on Tuesday announced
the launch of Gamesville on Demand, a broadband paid subscription-based
service for online games. The service offers PC games such as "Roller
Coaster Tycoon," "Slingo" and "Centipede" for play without having to
download the entire game. Users will be able to preview two games for
free, after which time they can either pay $14.99 per month for access to
all games offered, $7.99 for five games each month, or $4.99 for one week
of access to a single game. "More people are now using broadband
connections than ever before, and the online gaming industry is
exploding," said Meredith Hanrahan, vice president of entertainment for
Terra Lycos. "We feel our unique offering will attract a whole new
audience of users who are looking to take advantage of their high speed
connections with premium services such as playing PC games on demand over
the Internet."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020319/192026_1.html
http://gamesvilleondemand.lycos.com/
_____________________________________________

o Zomba Recording Corp. to Release Albums in DataPlay Format

Boulder, Colo. -- DataPlay, a developer of quarter-sized optical media
discs, announced on Tuesday that Zomba Recording Corporation, whose Jive
Records label is home to artists including Britney Spears and NSync, will
release albums on pre-recorded DataPlay discs. Boulder-based DataPlay's
discs can hold any type of media and come in 250MB and 500MB capacities.
Consumer electronics devices that can play the discs are scheduled to
begin selling this summer. Major record labels EMI, BMG and Universal
Music Group have also said they will release albums on DataPlay discs.
http://www.dataplay.com
http://www.zomba.com
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Or contact register@streamingmedia.com or 888 301-8890

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o Briefly Noted:

(Orlando, Fla.) Wireless technology developer Qualcomm said on Tuesday
that it has signed agreements with Sony Online Entertainment and game
developer THQ, both of which will develop wireless entertainment for the
company's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) platform for
wireless devices. The announcement was made at the CTIA (Cellular
Telecommunications and Internet Association) Convention taking place this
week in Orlando, Florida.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020319/190073_1.html
http://www.wow-com.com/ctiashow/
http://www.sonyonline.com
http://www.thq.com

(London) Wireless entertainment developer Digital Bridges announced on
Tuesday that it will launch the first collection of color wireless games
outside of the Japanese and Korean markets. WAP-based games including
"Star Trek: First Duty" and "Steve Jackson's Sorcery" are now available to
consumers with color handsets on networks including AT&T Wireless, Alltel
Communications, Aliant, Bell Mobility, Sprint PCS, Telus Mobility and
VoiceStream Wireless.
http://www.digitalbridges.com/newsite/newsroom/latest.php?id=63

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Digital rights management technology developer
InterTrust Technologies announced on Tuesday that electronics manufacturer
Mitsubishi has licensed its products for use in video-on-demand devices it
makes for the Japanese market. Mitsubishi will use Santa Clara-based
InterTrust's digital rights management in video-on-demand servers for
PC-based digital video-on-demand.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020319/sftu058_1.html
http://www.intertrust.com 

(Orlando, Fla.) Impulse Media Technologies, a developer of wireless music
downloads, said on Tuesday that it has integrated its service with Portal
Software's customer management and billing platform. The agreement will
allow cell phone users to identify and purchase music while it's playing
on the radio, with the music purchase then billed directly to the user's
cell phone account. The purchase can be downloaded to the user's PC or
shipped via CD.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020319/190021_1.html
http://www.impulsemediatech.com
http://www.portal.com 

(Hollywood) Fandango, a provider of online and print-at-home movie
ticketing services, said on Tuesday that it has added new theaters from
the Century Theatres chain to its print-at-home online ticketing service.
The additions include 11 new installations representing 93 screens in
Marin, Orange and Ventura counties in California.
http://www.fandango.com
http://www.centurytheatres.com  

(New York) Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered
digital radio to consumers, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered
with the National Hockey League (NHL) to create a two-hour hockey radio
show. The program, broadcast on Sirius and streamed on NHL.com, will
feature call-in and instant message questions from listeners and will air
daily from April 1 until the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020319/nytu051_1.html
http://www.siriusradio.com
http://www.nhl.com

(San Carlos, Calif.) Interactive TV technology developer Liberate
Technologies said on Tuesday that it has completed its deployment of
services to Omne Communications, the U.K.'s third-largest cable TV
operator. The service, which was deployed onto set-top boxes developed by
Pace Micro Technology, will pass 325,000 subscribers in South West
Scotland and North West England.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020319/sftu008a_1.html
http://www.liberate.com
http://www.omneuk.com

(Springfield, Mass.) Dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster launched a paid
subscription service for the unabridged version of its online dictionary.
The service offers searches for definitions, etymologies, rhymes, and
puzzle answers as well as 470,000 word entries for an annual fee of
$29.95, or $4.95 per month.
http://www.merriam-websterunabridged.com/mwol-1b.htm

(New York) On2 Technologies, a developer of digital audio and video
compression technology, said on Tuesday that Media Cruise Solutions will
serve as its exclusive reseller of encoding and server software in Japan.
On2 holds a minority stake in Tokyo-based Media Cruise Solutions. The
three-year deal includes a license for New York-based On2's VP4 and VP5
video codecs, as well as future versions of the company's technologies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020319/192299_1.html
http://www.on2.com
http://www.mcskk.com

(New York) Video game developer Gameloft said on Tuesday that it will
develop wireless games for Qualcomm's BREW platform for wireless devices.
New York-based Gameloft has already launched three titles -- "Block
Breaker," "Lock 'em Up" and "Atomino" -- for San Diego-based Qualcomm's
BREW.
http://www.gameloft.com/press_com.html#p6
http://www.qualcomm.com/brew

(Seattle, Wash.) Versaly Games, a developer of mobile entertainment, said
on Tuesday that it has entered into a licensing agreement whereby Sprint
PCS customers can download Seattle-based Versaly's "Star Trek"-related
graphics to display on their cell phones. The graphics will be available
as part of Sprint PCS's Ringers and More service, which costs $4 per month
after a three-month free trial.
http://www.versaly.com
http://www.sprintpcs.com

(Irvine, Calif.) Video game publication GameSpy has named its list of the
top 30 most influential figures in the games industry. Taking first place
was Nintendo's "Mario" and "Zelda" creator Shigeru Miyamoto, followed by
Firaxis Games' Sid Meier, who developed the "Civilization" series of
games.
http://www.gamespy.com/articles/march02/top30/

(New York) Billboard.com on Tuesday reported on rock band Wilco's upcoming
tour, and their trial of being dropped from their record label and
eventually posting their as yet-unreleased new album on the Internet. The
band discussed the decision in a post on its website. "Just because we
made [new album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"] available from our site via the
QuickTime stream and unauthorized copies of the record have been widely
available online since last summer doesn't have to have a negative effect
on sales," the band wrote. Wilco has since signed with Nonesuch and the
album will be released on April 23.
http://www.billboard.com/billboard/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1429516
http://www.wilcoworld.net
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