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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- March 19, 2003
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o Diller Resigns as Chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal Entertainment
o Nintendo Says GameCube Sales Doubled in February
o British Music Industry Condemns BT For Online Piracy
o Reuters Launches Online Streaming Video Service for Iraq News Coverage
o Copyright Office Holding Public Hearings on Circumvention Exceptions
> DMW Publications: February Law and Policy Report
o Briefly Noted: Google - Cybersurf - Daum Communications, AOL Mobile
Download Store, MarketWatch.com - newspapers, Ubi Soft - "Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon," ClearSky Mobile Media - Cindy Margolis, Sky TV - Sky Bet
Vegas, Concurrent Computer Corp. - VideoTele.com, Video Magazine Rack,
Sony Blu-ray Disc Group, FAST - 8,609 Mbps Internet, Rep. John Carter -
jailing file-sharers
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> Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28 | NYC
> Marketplace: Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services, Game Industry
Report, iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
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o Diller Resigns as Chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal Entertainment
New York -- Barry Diller announced on Thursday his resignation as chairman
and CEO of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the U.S. entertainment arm of
the debt-laden French media conglomerate. "My executive role was never
intended to be permanent," said Diller, who remains chairman and CEO of
USA Interactive. "Now that Vivendi Universal has begun a formal process in
reviewing options for its entertainment assets, it is appropriate to step
aside from any direct management responsibility." Separately, Diller's USA
Interactive announced on Wednesday that it acquired all the shares of
online travel site Expedia that it did not already own for $3.3 billion.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030319/195457_1.html
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com
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o Nintendo Says GameCube Sales Doubled in February
Tokyo -- Japanese video game maker Nintendo said on Wednesday that sales
of its GameCube video game console doubled during the month of February,
due in large part to a promotion that offered a free game along with the
purchase of a console. Sales were 110 percent higher in February than in
January, the company said. Nintendo also announced that pre-orders for its
anticipated "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" have reached 600,000
units; the game is set for release on March 24.
http://www.nintendo.com
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o British Music Industry Condemns BT For Online Piracy
London -- The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on Tuesday said U.K.
telecommunications giant BT was dragging its heels in the battle against
music piracy. The BPI, which represents many of the heavy hitters in the
British music industry, said BT has ignored several attempts to broach the
touchy subject of peer-to-peer file-sharing. Such exchanges have cost the
music industry dearly, BPI contends. BT, however, denies that it has been
complicit in music piracy and in its defense has pointed out the fact
peer-to-peer file-sharing is not illegal in the U.K.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2851331.stm
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o Reuters Launches Online Streaming Video Service for Iraq News Coverage
New York -- News organization Reuters announced on Wednesday the launch of
a free video streaming video service that will offer updated coverage it
generates of the ongoing conflict in Iraq. Reuters Raw Video: Conflict In
Iraq will provide news from the company's 150 text, photography and
television journalists on the ground in Iraq and the surrounding
countries, including 20 editorial staff who intend to remain in Baghdad.
"By bringing raw video footage directly to Reuters.com we are extending
access to the reporting strength of Reuters -- known globally for speed,
accuracy and impartiality -- directly to consumers," said Rich Sabreen,
executive vice president and global head of Reuters Media.
http://about.reuters.com/pressoffice/pressreleases/index.asp?pressid=1139
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o Copyright Office Holding Public Hearings on Circumvention Exceptions
Washington -- The U.S. Copyright Office has announced that it will hold
public hearings -- in both Washington and California -- in its rulemaking
on the possible exemptions to the prohibition against circumvention of
technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. The
controversial section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in
question has led to the prosecution of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov,
teen-aged Norwegian DeCSS creator Jon Johansen, and a company that makes
software that allows foreign toner cartridges to work in printers. The
hearings will seek to determine whether there are particular "classes of
works" as to which users are, or are likely to be, adversely affected in
their ability to make non-infringing uses if they are prohibited from
circumventing such technological measures. Hearings will be held in
Washington, D.C., on April 11, April 15, April 30, and May 2, 2003; dates
for California hearings during May have yet to be announced.
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/index.html#hearings
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Briefly Noted:
(Mountain View, Calif.) Google, a provider of Internet search services,
said on Wednesday that it has signed a deal to provide its services to
Cybersurf, one of Canada's largest Internet technology companies. Under
the deal, Google's search engine and sponsored links have been added to
the front page of the company's Internet service. Separately, the company
announced that it has licensed its technology and will provide search
results for South Korean firm Daum Communications' Daum.net portal,
beginning later this month.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpNAN0dubmdaWmdaWodu
http://www.cybersurf.net
http://www.daum.net
(Dulles, Va.) America Online on Wednesday announced the launch of the AOL
Mobile Download Store, an online library of hundreds of ringtones, logos
and phone screen savers available for purchase for $1.99 each. Los
Angeles-based Moviso is providing AOL with the delivery technology for the
new service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030319/195323_1.html
http://mobiledownloads.aol.com
http://www.moviso.com
(San Francisco) MarketWatch.com, an Internet site providing financial news
and information, said on Wednesday that it has agreed to supply Knight
Ridder/Tribune Information Services with a selection of columns and
breaking news stories to be offered for publication in more than 300
newspapers. The deal marks the first time that news from CBS MarketWatch
will be syndicated to newspapers nationwide.
http://shorterlink.com/?7QDFZV
(San Francisco) Game developer Ubi Soft Entertainment announced on
Wednesday that its "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" titles for PlayStation
and Nintendo Game Boy Advance, based on the movie of the same name, will
ship to retail in August. Under license from Sony Pictures Consumer
Products, Tokyo-based developer Genki will develop the PlayStation 2
version, while Ubi Soft China will develop the title for Game Boy Advance.
http://www.ubi.com
http://www.genki.co.jp/english/top.html
(Orlando, Fla.) ClearSky Mobile Media, a provider of wireless applications
and entertainment, announced on Wednesday the launch of the first wireless
portal for Cindy Margolis, the "most downloaded" woman on the Internet.
The WAP site will let cell phone users download pictures of Margolis for
use as screensavers and wallpapers.
http://cindy.csky.com
http://www.csky.com/pr/cindy.asp
(London) U.K. satellite TV operator Sky TV this week launched a new
fixed-odds gambling service called Sky Bet Vegas. The company is trying to
capitalize on the growing trend of iTV betting, up 160 percent in the last
six months of 2002.
http://shorterlink.com/?CKT1IC
http://www.sky.com
(Atlanta) Concurrent Computer Corp., a provider of video-on-demand
delivery technology, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with
VideoTele.com to offer service providers the ability to deliver digital TV
and other services over broadband access networks. Atlanta-based
Concurrent said the deal expands its entry into the video-over-DSL market,
where VideoTele.com serves more than 75 percent of the companies that have
commercially deployed digital TV services, to an estimated 15 million
customers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030319/sfw053_1.html
http://www.ccur.com
http://www.videotele.com
(New York) Publisher Primedia on Wednesday named Tara Maitra executive
vice president and general manager of Video Magazine Rack, the company's
new video-on-demand programming service. The service launched on Comcast
cable in Philadelphia in January and currently offers video content based
on Primedia magazines like Motor Trend, In-Fisherman and Adventure Sports.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030319/law055_1.html
http://www.primedia.com
(New York) Sony Corporation of America on Wednesday said that it has
appointed Mike Fidler senior vice president of its Blu-ray Disc Group,
which is developing the new increased storage capacity optical disc
format. Fidler will be responsible for promoting the Blu-ray format to
relevant industries including motion picture studios, music labels,
consumer electronics manufacturers, optical replication and
post-production houses.
http://www.blu-raydisc.info
(Washington) National Geographic News recently reported on a new
ultra-fast Internet data transfer protocol, developed at the California
Institute of Technology, which can download a full-length DVD in less than
five seconds. The protocol is called FAST, or Fast Active queue management
Scalable Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Caltech researchers achieved
a speed of 8,609 Mbps -- 153,000 times faster than a dial-up modem and
close to 6,000 times faster than an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line) connection.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/03/0318_030318_internet.html
(San Francisco) Wired News on Wednesday reported on remarks made by Rep.
John Carter (R-Texas) at a recent House hearing, where he said that
prosecuting a number of college students trading copyrighted materials on
file-sharing systems would serve as a good deterrent for students
everywhere. "What these kids don't realize is that every time they pull up
music and movies and make a copy, they are committing a felony under the
United States code," Carter told Wired News. "If you were to prosecute
someone and give them three years, I think this would act as a deterrent.
Sometimes it takes the shock value of someone actually being punished. I
think you would have a 50 percent falloff, at least, of these people [who
are pirating files]."
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,58081,00.html
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