archives

o Russian E-Book Software Firm Calls Digital Copyright Act Unconstitutional
o WSJ: Sony, Microsoft Outsourcing Video Game Consoles to Cut Costs
o Streaming Services Provider ChainCast Networks Raises $4 Million
o CNET: Warner Music to Introduce Copy-Protected CDs in Japan
o Game Developer Bam Entertainment Halves Revenue Estimates
> Digital Media Wire Panel Series: Interactive Television | L.A., S.F., NYC
o Briefly Noted: TV Guide Interactive - WorldGate - Concurrent, InterTrust
- SeaChange, XM Satellite Radio, One Voice Technologies - "Harry Potter"
DVD, Tonos Entertainment, Norrath - 77th richest country, CARP -
independent webcasters
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o Russian E-Book Software Firm Calls Digital Copyright Act Unconstitutional

San Jose, Calif. -- In a hearing held Monday, lawyers for Russian software
firm Elcomsoft argued that the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(DMCA) is "too vague" and therefore unconstitutional. Elcomsoft is accused
of violating the DMCA with its software that can break the security
technology on Adobe's eBook Reader, and faces up to $2.5 million in fines.
The U.S. government filed suit against the company after a widely
publicized arrest of one of its employees, Dmitry Sklyarov, at a software
convention in Las Vegas last year. The government countered Elcomsoft's
argument by saying that the DMCA offers "a blanket prohibition on any
device that's designed to circumvent [copyright restrictions]," Wired News
reported. U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte did not issue a ruling at the
hearing, but is expected to rule on Elcomsoft's claim in the coming weeks.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51460,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-872891.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Elcomsoft/20020328_eff_elcom_pr.html
http://www.elcomsoft.com
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o WSJ: Sony, Microsoft Outsourcing Video Game Consoles to Cut Costs

New York -- The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that video game
console developers Sony and Microsoft have quietly begun outsourcing their
manufacturing needs, in what may be preparation for an upcoming
price-gouging war in the console industry. Shifting from complete in-house
manufacture, Sony will soon begin using Taiwanese manufacturers for at
least some of its PlayStation 2 consoles. Likewise, Microsoft, which had
previously used only Flextronics to manufacture its Xbox console, has now
shifted some of the responsibility to Winstron Corp., a spin-off of
Taiwan-based Acer, Inc. Microsoft is faced with slower sales of its Xbox
in Europe and Japan than was expected, and all three console developers
are predicted to cut prices on their products by the end of the year to
help meet their sales forecasts.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/732374.asp?0dm=C13JT&cp1=1
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o Streaming Services Provider ChainCast Networks Raises $4 Million

San Jose, Calif. -- ChainCast Networks, a provider of peer-to-peer based
streaming media services for businesses, announced on Monday that it has
raised $4 million in its third round of financing. GIC Special Investments
was among the return investors participating in the round. San Jose-based
ChainCast says it provides streaming cost savings of up to 50-65 percent
for its terrestrial radio clients that include Cox Radio, Zimmer and
Entercom. The company will use the funds to launch new services and
software products for enterprise audio-video streaming.
http://www.chaincast.com
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o CNET: Warner Music to Introduce Copy-Protected CDs in Japan

San Francisco -- CNET reported on Monday that Warner Music Japan plans to
test copy-protection technology on a CD release in Japan, possibly yet
this year. The company has already released two CDs into the European
market that use technology developed by Israel-based Midbar Tech, which
prevents users from copying songs onto their computers. "The title will be
clearly labeled to indicate that the disc is copy-protected," Warner Music
spokesman Will Tanous told CNET. Consumer groups and some lawmakers have
argued that such copy-protection violates a consumer's traditional right
to make personal copies of CDs they purchase and to play them in any
device they choose -- as some copy-protected CDs also will not play in
computers or DVD players. Warner did not provide the title of the
copy-protected CD it intends to distribute in Japan.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-872475.html?tag=cd_mh
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o Game Developer Bam Entertainment Halves Revenue Estimates

San Jose, Calif. -- Bam Entertainment, a developer of video games for PCs,
consoles and wireless devices, announced on Monday that it will reduce its
revenue estimates for the current quarter to between $6 million and $8.5
million, down from prior estimates of $18-$20 million. "Delays in
scheduled product releases and poor execution of worldwide sales and
distribution strategies in support of our new releases led to the
shortfall in our revenue expectations for the quarter," said Bam CEO Ray
Musci. "Additionally, rapid category maturation and shortened life cycles
for handheld video games in recent weeks has prompted us to offer
additional concessions to our retail customers." San Jose-based Bam said
it has retained the services of investment banking firm Jefferies and
Company to explore merger or acquisition opportunities, and reports
preliminary discussions with several undisclosed parties.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020401/sfm050_1.html
http://www.bam4fun.com
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o Briefly Noted:

(Pasadena, Calif.) TV Guide Interactive, a provider of interactive program
guides, and interactive TV services provider WorldGate announced on Monday
that they have completed integration of their services with Concurrent
Computer Corp.'s video-on-demand server technology. The three firms will
now lab test their interactive TV service -- which can operate without the
need for any middleware -- and plan to make the service offering email,
Web surfing, interactive program guides and video-on-demand available for
consumer deployment by cable TV operators this summer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020401/10102_1.html
http://www.tvguideinteractive.tv
http://www.wgate.com
http://www.ccur.com 

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Digital rights management technology developer
InterTrust Technologies said on Monday that SeaChange International, a
provider of video servers, will use InterTrust's rights management
software for several of its Internet-based video-on-demand deployments.
Santa Clara-based InterTrust also announced Monday that it has been
awarded a patent for its technology that allows consumers and corporations
to determine under what circumstances personal information or transaction
reporting information will be collected, shared or released. InterTrust is
currently embroiled in a patent dispute with Microsoft over its digital
rights management and other technologies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020401/nym034_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020401/sfm045_1.html
http://www.intertrust.com
http://www.seachangeinternational.com

(Washington) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of nationwide
satellite-delivered digital radio, said on Monday that it has more than
doubled its subscriber base in the first quarter, ending with a total of
76,000 subscribers. "XM added over 48,000 subscribers in the first
quarter, exceeding its target by 15 percent, outpacing most Wall Street
analyst expectations," said XM CEO Hugh Panero. Panero also predicted that
service offerings from auto manufacturers will help Washington-based XM
achieve its goal of 350,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020401/dcm006_1.html
http://www.xmradio.com

(New York) MusicNet, a digital music subscription service joint venture
between AOL, RealNetworks, major record labels Warner Music Group, EMI and
BMG Entertainment, and independent label Zomba, announced several new
appointments on Monday. Cindy Charles, formerly vice president of law and
business affairs at MTV, has been named senior vice president of law and
business affairs and general counsel. Additionally, former Jupiter Media
Metrix digital music analyst Mark Mooradian has been named senior director
of strategic planning and business development. MusicNet licenses a range
of subscription services to distributors that provide streaming and
downloaded digital music to consumers.
http://www.musicnet.com

(San Diego) One Voice Technologies announced on Monday that Warner Home
Video will include its interactive voice technology on its upcoming DVD
release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." When placed in a
computer's DVD-ROM drive, viewers can use voice commands spoken into their
PC mic to navigate an interactive tour of Hogwarts, view game
demonstrations and uncover "secret spells" -- better known as Easter eggs
-- or hidden features on the DVD. San Diego-based One Voice will provide
navigation commands in several languages including U.S. English, U.K.
English, French, Spanish, German and Italian.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020401/12092_1.html
http://www.onevoicetech.com

(Los Angeles) Tonos Entertainment, provider of a global online network for
musicians and songwriters, announced on Monday that it has promoted former
MTV Networks executive Justin Herz from general manager to the position of
CEO. Before joining Los Angeles-based Tonos, Herz was senior vice
president and general manager of MTV's Sonicnet.com.
http://www.tonos.com

(London) The BBC Online recently featured an article on the growing
virtual economies spurred by massively multiplayer online roleplaying
games such as Sony's EverQuest. Norrath -- the online environment of
EverQuest -- was recently found to be the 77th richest country in the
world, in between Russia and Bulgaria. EverQuest players spend many hours
developing skills and amassing valuable items for their online personas
that have fetched large sums through online auctions strongly condemned
by the game's creators.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1899000/1899420.stm

(New York) Both The New York Times and CNET on Monday reported on how the recent Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel's (CARP) proposed rates that
webcasters must pay record labels to stream music over Internet radio
stations will affect smaller, independent webcasters. The proposed rates
-- which webcasters say are too high and the recording industry argues are
too low -- may be altered until May 2, when they are scheduled to be
approved. "Webcasters have certainly found a way to pay for every other
cost that is necessary for their business," Steven Marks, senior vice
president for business and legal affairs at the Recording Industry
Association of America, told The Times. "There's no reason they should not
be able to pay for the very music they're building a business on." Small
webcasters argue they won't be able to afford the fees, and their more
eclectic fare will be forced off of the Internet. "We'll be left with a
bunch of carefully crafted corporate sludge," one independent webcaster
told CNET.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/01/technology/ebusiness/01RADI.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-872765.html
http://www.loc.gov/copyright/carp/webcasting_rates.html
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>DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES:
"iTV: New Interactive Services Fuel Big Expectations
Slow Market Penetration Raises Questions: How Big is iTV Going to Be?"

Register by clicking on the links below to join leading executives and
professionals at our upcoming iTV breakfast panels in Los Angeles, San
Francisco and New York.

LA: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=21549&Referrer_id=4074
SF: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=21550&Referrer_id=4074
NYC: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=21551&Referrer_id=4074

========================================================
LOS ANGELES: Tuesday, April 16, 2002, Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills
========================================================
Moderator: Ken Rutkowski, Founder and CEO, KenRadio.com
Stephen Condon, SVP and CMO, Intertainer
K.C. Hildreth, COO, GoldPocket Interactive
Steve Hoffman, CEO, Spiderdance
Mark Kapczynski, Principal, Media & Entertainment Solutions Group,
Microsoft
David Nathanson, VP of Broadband Strategy & Channel Development, Fox Cable
Networks

Sponsored by: LARTA
For more information and to register for the Los Angeles event:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=21549&Referrer_id=4074

========================================================
SAN FRANCISCO: Wednesday, April 17, 2002, City Club of San Francisco
========================================================
Moderator: Sean Badding, VP and Senior Analyst, The Carmel Group
Martijn Lopes Cardozo, VP of Product Management, GoldPocket Interactive
Mitchell Linden, Head of Operations - North America, BBC Technology
Bill Niemeyer, Founder, Centrimedia (former Director, Strategic Dev.,
Spiderdance)
Peter Schultz, Director of Business Development, PopTV Program, Liberate
Bridget Steele, Business Development Manager, Microsoft TV

For more information and to register for the San Francisco event:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=21550&Referrer_id=4074

=========================================================
NEW YORK: Thursday, April 25, 2002, Cornell Club of New York City
=========================================================
Moderator: Art Cohen, SVP, Advertising, ACTV
Patrick Donoghue, VP, Interactive Television, Cablevision
Gerard Kunkel, President, WorldGate
Christopher S. Lucas, VP & Exec. Producer, Digital Media Group, Showtime
Networks
Rod A. Nenner, Director, TV & Entertainment Solutions Group, America
Online
Carla Sinatra, Vice President of Business Development, NBC
Todd Krieger, Senior Manager, Business Development, Microsoft TV

Sponsored by: WorldGate
For more information and to register for the New York event:
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Sponsorships and Inquiries:
Ned Sherman at 323.464.0793 or esherman@digitalmediawire.com
Paul Sherman at psherman@digitalmediawire.com

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