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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- March 20, 2003
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o Iraq War Sparks Boost in Worldwide Web Traffic
o Satellite Radio Firms XM, Sirius Reach Accord With Industry on Royalties
o Report: DVD Rental Revenue Surpasses VHS Revenue for First Time Ever
o Borders Inc. Joins "Echo" Digital Music Retailers Consortium
o Ad Verification Technology Firm AudioAudit Raises $15 Million
o Yahoo Completes $235 Million Purchase of Search Technology Firm Inktomi
o Panel Suspends Antitrust Probe Into Vivendi's Digital TV Firm Canal Plus
> DMW Publications: February Law and Policy Report
o Briefly Noted: Wanadoo - free music downloads, Ahead Software - aacPlus,
Electronic Arts - John Daly, Activision - "Disney's Extreme Skate
Adventure," TDK Mediactive - 3 new titles, Cell phones - digital rights
management, 321 Studios CEO - interview
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> Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28 | NYC
> Marketplace: Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services, Game Industry
Report, iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
Full Classifieds located beneath "Briefly Noted" section below.
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o Iraq War Sparks Boost in Worldwide Web Traffic
London -- Internet traffic worldwide surged on Thursday as users went
online to get details of the invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led military forces,
Reuters reported. Yahoo said it saw three times more traffic than normal
after President Bush's national TV address announcing the invasion last
night, while MSNBC.com and other sites reported traffic two to three times
higher than usual. Internet measurement firm ComScore reported that the
top 15 news sites saw an average of 41 percent more traffic this week than
during the past four weeks. Keynote Systems, another measurement firm,
reported that several U.S. and U.K. military websites have experienced
glitches caused by increased traffic. "People are still watching the
television and right now this is a visual thing," Keynote Systems
consultant Eric Siegel told Reuters. "As more information appears than
they can get from the TV, people will turn to the Web."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=2416284
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o Satellite Radio Firms XM, Sirius Reach Accord With Industry on Royalties
Washington -- The nation's two commercial satellite radio operators -- XM
and Sirius -- jointly announced on Thursday that they have reached an
agreement with SoundExchange, the record industry's digital audio royalty
collection arm, on rates and terms for sound recordings used in satellite
broadcasts. Terms of the agreement, which lasts through 2006, were not
disclosed. "The royalties paid under this agreement will be an important
new revenue stream for the 3,000 labels and thousands of artists we
represent. The agreement once again compensates artists and copyright
owners for public performances of their creative works," said
SoundExchange executive director John L. Simson.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030319/nyw129_1.html
http://www.xmradio.com
http://www.siriusradio.com
http://www.soundexchange.com
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o Report: DVD Rental Revenue Surpasses VHS Revenue for First Time Ever
Encino, Calif. -- For the first time since its introduction six years ago,
the DVD format last week generated more in movie rental revenue than the
VHS format, according to data released on Thursday by industry trade group
the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). For the week ending March
16, 2003, DVD rentals generated $80 million in revenue, while VHS rentals
yielded $78 million. However, in terms of the number of units rented, VHS
remained on top for the week, garnering 54 percent of the market.
http://www.vsda.org/Resource.phx/public/press/march2003/mar19-03.htx
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o Borders Inc. Joins "Echo" Digital Music Retailers Consortium
Los Angeles) Echo, a consortium of online digital music retailers looking
to build a licensing and technology platform for the sale and delivery of
digital music, announced that book and music retailer Borders Inc. has
made an undisclosed investment and become an equal partner with the six
other founders of the group. Los Angeles-based Echo was launched in
January by retailers Best Buy, Hastings Entertainment, Tower Records,
Trans World Entertainment, Virgin Entertainment and Wherehouse Music. The
group said it is "actively seeking competitive licenses from the recording
industry to enable the mass marketing and growth of legitimate digital
music products and services through a variety of online and in-store
offerings."
http://www.echo.com/press/releases/03_03-19.html
http://www.borders.com
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o Ad Verification Technology Firm AudioAudit Raises $15 Million
Paramus, N.J. -- AudioAudit, a provider of ad broadcast verification
technology services for the advertising, cable and broadcast industries,
announced on Thursday that it has raised $15 million in its first round of
venture capital financing. Participating in the investment round were
Catalyst Partners, Polaris Venture Partners and Ridgewood Capital. New
Jersey-based AudioAudit's technology enables advertising agencies and
corporate advertising departments to verify that a scheduled advertisement
has been broadcast in the right market, on the right outlet, to the right
audience at the right time. The company will use the funds to market its
AdVantage technology platform.
http://www.audioaudit.com/pr20030319.html
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o Yahoo Completes $235 Million Purchase of Search Technology Firm Inktomi
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo announced on Thursday that it has completed its
$235 million acquisition of search technology provider Inktomi. Sunnyvale,
Calif.-based Yahoo paid $1.65 in cash for each share of Foster City,
Calif.-based Inktomi. "The acquisition enables Yahoo to integrate
Inktomi's world-class technology throughout the network as well as offer
more value to consumers and businesses through programs such as paid
inclusion, which provide higher-quality commercial search results," said
Yahoo CEO Terry Semel.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030319/195624_1.html
http://www.inktomi.com
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o Panel Suspends Antitrust Probe Into Vivendi's Digital TV Firm Canal Plus
Brussels -- The European Commission on Thursday announced it has suspended
its investigation into French pay-TV operator Canal Plus. With the
Commission's antitrust panel's decision to place the investigation on
"indefinite hold," analysts have speculated that the company may avoid
costly fines and penalties altogether. The panel had been investigating
whether or not long-term contracts between U.S. filmmakers and Canal Plus,
a Vivendi Universal company, had violated anti-competition rules.
http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm
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DMW Publications: February Law & Policy Report
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Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order your
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Digital Media Law & Policy Report - New Issue
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media. 35+ pages of case summaries, news and analysis, policy updates,
court filings, and exclusive interviews with legal counsel and business
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Published monthly. February issue on sale now!
**Special Reduced Rates available for a limited time**
Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
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FEATURED SECTION
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Briefly Noted:
(Paris) French Internet service provider Wanadoo on Thursday said that it
will allow customers to download 5 euro ($5.3) worth of free, licensed
music from March 21-28 in France and April 9-16 in the U.K. The aim is to
encourage the legal downloading of music, the company said.
http://www.digitaldownloadday.com
(Amsterdam) Ahead Software, which distributes the Nero CD/DVD recording
software, announced on Thursday that it has licensed the MPEG-4 aacPlus
audio codec from Coding Technologies. The new audio standard will allow
users of Germany-based Ahead's Nero software to encode and playback
CD-quality MPEG-4 aacPlus audio files at bit rates as low as 48 kbps --
about half the size of a regular MP3 file.
http://www.codingtechnologies.com/technology/aacPlus.htm
http://www.ahead.de/en
http://www.nero.com
(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts announced that it
has signed an agreement with PGA tour golf pro John Daly, who will appear
in the company's "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004" and any other EA Sports
interactive golf titles. The "Tiger Woods" sequel is due for release in
the fall for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
http://easports.ea.com
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Game developer Activision announced on Thursday a
partnership with Disney Interactive on "Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure,"
a game that will insert Disney animated film characters into a
skateboarding game utilizing the same game engine as Activision's "Tony
Hawk Pro Skater 4." The title will feature characters from Pixar Animation
Studios' " Toy Story 2," "Tarzan" and "The Lion King." Santa Monica,
Calif.-based Activision plans a late summer release date for the game,
which is being developed for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy
Advance.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030320/lath027_1.html
http://www.activision.com
http://www.extremeskateadventure.com
(Westlake Village, Calif.) Video game publisher TDK Mediactive on Thursday
announced the release of three new titles. "UFC" Tapout 2" for Xbox, based
on a license from the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts
sports association, was developed by Japan-based Dream Factory. "World
Racing" for Xbox utilizes the company's license from Mercedes-Benz, and
was developed by Germany-based Synetic. "The Muppets: On With The Show"
for Game Boy Advance was developed by New York-based Vicarious Visions as
part of Westlake Village, Calif.-based TDK Mediactive's deal with The Jim
Henson Company.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030320/205119_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030320/205093_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030313/135191_1.html
http://www.tdk-mediactive.com
http://www.drf.co.jp
http://www.synetic.de
http://www.vvisions.com
(San Francisco) Wired News on Thursday reported on the growing use of
digital rights management schemes to prevent users from forwarding
copyrighted content downloaded to their cell phones. Cell phone maker
Nokia said it plans to install "forward lock" technology into its N-Game
gaming phone and other upcoming models, which will prevent the forwarding
of copyrighted content. "There are digital-rights management issues,
especially in regards to music," Mitch Lazar, vice president of wireless
and emerging technology at AOL Time Warner, told Wired News. "In certain
types of content, like CNN, we are debating whether that is a concern for
us at all, because news is time-sensitive and won't live on the phone for
a long time.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58117,00.html
(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Thursday featured an interview with
Robert Moore, CEO of 321 Studios. 321's DVD X Copy software lets users
make perfect copies of DVD movies, and has made it the target of copyright
infringement lawsuits from Hollywood movie studios. While 321 has asked a
judge to declare its software legal, the studios have sued under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, arguing the software violates the law's
provision that makes it a crime to circumvent the copyright protections on
a digital work. "We want to go trial," Moore told News.com. "DVD X Copy
does not circumvent an access control mechanism, and that we can prove in
court. Our goal is to have the summary judgment motion denied and move
forward with discovery and go forward with a trial before jury."
http://news.com.com/2008-1082-992985.html?tag=fd_nc_1
http://www.321studios.com
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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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Texas. Retainer required to commence services. Tel. 323-363-3620.
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Game Industry Law & Policy Report
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