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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- April 4, 2003
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o RIAA Sues Students Operating Campus File-Sharing Networks
o Nintendo Sees Strong Sales of New Game Boy, "Zelda," "Pokemon" Titles
o Gaming Equipment Firm Shuffle Master Acquiring Assets of Sega Gaming Unit
o Video Delivery Firm Path 1 Networks Gets $1 Million
o Online Learning Firm K12 Raises $20 Million in Second Round
> DMW Publications: March Law and Policy Report
> Featured Section: Discreet cleaner XL
o Briefly Noted: Activision - Valve Software, IBiquity Digital - Fujitsu,
RCN Corp., Aspyr Media - "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4," Take-Two Interactive -
"Railroad Tycoon 3," InGrooves.com, Sony "Altair" streaming plasma TV,
Online video game rentals, Apple digital music service
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> Events: L.A. HIPAA Security and Privacy Conference, Games & Mobile
Forum: April 28 | NYC
> Marketplace: HP Workstation, TechSpotter, Game Industry Report,
iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
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o RIAA Sues Students Operating Campus File-Sharing Networks
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has
filed copyright infringement lawsuits against four college students
allegedly operating private file-sharing services on their school's
computer networks, saying the students were offering a combined 2.5
million songs for download. The suits target two students at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and one student each at Michigan Technological
University and Princeton University, whom the RIAA said used software like
Flatlan, Phynd or Direct Connect to create local area networks for
file-sharing, or as the RIAA dubbed them, "local area Napster networks."
The RIAA is seeking the maximum penalty, or $150,000 per each infringed
recording. "This is a particularly flagrant way to illegally distribute
millions of copyrighted works over the Internet," said RIAA president Cary
Sherman. "The people who run these Napster networks know full well what
they are doing -- operating a sophisticated network designed to enable
widespread music thievery."
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=629
http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/documents/index.html#riaa
http://chronicle.com/free/2003/04/2003040401t.htm
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-995429.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22370-2003Apr3.html
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o Nintendo Sees Strong Sales of New Game Boy, "Zelda," "Pokemon" Titles
Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Friday that it has
shipped over 800,000 of its new Game Boy Advance SP handheld game devices
to North American retailers, and that its "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind
Waker" title for GameCube, which sold 600,000 copies through pre-orders,
will likely soon sell through its initial shipment of 1.1 million units.
The company said that since it began taking pre-orders for the new Zelda
title, which launched on March 24, GameCube console sales experienced a 20
percent increase. Additionally, Nintendo said that it shipped 2.2 million
units of its "Pokemon Ruby" and "Pokemon Sapphire" Game Boy Advance titles
in North America; the Pokemon games have already sold over 4 million units
in Japan.
http://www.nintendo.com
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o Gaming Equipment Firm Shuffle Master Acquiring Assets of Sega Gaming Unit
Las Vegas -- Shuffle Master, a provider of electronic gaming equipment to
the casino industry, said on Friday it will acquire certain assets owned
by Sega Gaming Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese video
game maker Sega. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Under the deal, Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master would be granted licenses
to Sega Gaming titles including "Royal Ascot," "Royal Derby," "Sega
Blackjack," "Bingo Party" and "Roulette Club." Financially struggling Sega
last month announced a plan to merge with Japanese pinball game
manufacturer Sammy.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030404/45266_1.html
http://www.shufflemaster.com
http://www.sgti.com
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o Video Delivery Firm Path 1 Networks Gets $1 Million
San Diego -- Path 1 Network Technologies, a provider of delivery
technology for broadcast quality video over packet-based IP networks,
announced on Friday that it has completed a $1 million fixed-price
financing. Two undisclosed parties participated in the deal, which may be
expanded to $1.5 million under certain conditions. San Diego-based Path
1's technology supports services like video-on-demand and is targeted to
carrier, broadcast, networking and entertainment companies as well as
enterprise and government markets.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030404/laf013_1.html
http://www.path1.com
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o Online Learning Firm K12 Raises $20 Million in Second Round
McLean, Va. -- K12, a provider of technology-oriented educational
services, said on Thursday that it has raised $20 million in its second
round of funding, led by Constellation Ventures. The company, which was
co-founded in 1999 by Bill Bennett, the former U.S. Secretary of
Education, said that it will use the funding to expand and improve its
curriculum, as well as to make its content available to more students in
schools across the nation. K12 provides its academic program to many
"virtual" on-line schools and programs.
http://www.k12.com
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==========================================
DMW Publications: March Law & Policy Report
==========================================
Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order your
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Digital Media Law & Policy Report - New Issue
Must-read publication on legal and policy matters related to digital
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Published monthly. March issue on sale now!
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Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
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==================
FEATURED SECTION
==================
Featured Section posting at:
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Briefly Noted:
(Santa Monica, Calif.) Video game developer and publisher Activision
announced on Friday a multi-title publishing agreement with Kirkland,
Wash.-based PC game developer Valve, creator of popular multiplayer titles
like "Half-Life" and "Counter-Strike." Included in the agreement is
Valve's upcoming title "Day of Defeat," scheduled for release in May.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030404/laf015_1.html
http://www.activision.com
http://www.valvesoftware.com
(Columbia, Md.) IBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology
that lets broadcasters send a digital signal alongside their existing
analog transmissions, announced that Fujitsu Ten Limited of Japan has
licensed the technology for integration into automotive components.
Fujitsu Ten's Eclipse brand is one of the top five sellers in the hi-end
category of aftermarket automotive receivers. The technology allows users
to receive digital signals with improved audio fidelity, and provides for
the development of additional on-demand interactive audio and wireless
data services.
http://www.ibiquity.com/press/pr/PressReleasesiBiquity.htm
(Princeton, N.J.) RCN, a provider of bundled phone, cable television and
high-speed Internet services, said on Friday it has launched
video-on-demand services for 110,000 marketable homes in the Brooklyn and
Queens service area. The company's video-on-demand service is delivered by
TVN Entertainment, using SeaChange video servers. New Jersey-based RCN
also recently launched video-on-demand in Philadelphia and plans to expand
to additional markets in 2003.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030403/phth045_1.html
http://www.rcn.com
(Austin) Aspyr Media, a publisher of video games for the PC and Mac,
announced on Friday that it will release PC and Mac versions of
Activision's popular "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4" title in May. Austin-based
Aspyr said that Quebec-based developer Beenox is currently at work
creating the titles.
http://www.aspyr.com
http://www.beenox.com
(New York) Game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software said on Friday it
will publish "Railroad Tycoon 3" for PC in the fall. The game is currently
being developed at New York-based Take-Two's Missouri-based PopTop
Software studio, and will be published by the company's Gathering label.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030404/45131_1.html
http://www.take2games.com
http://www.poptop.com
(San Francisco) InGrooves.com recently announced the launch of an online
electronica music licensing service. The site, which features ten genres
of dance music, will serve independent electronica labels and artists who
have licensed their tracks for use by TV, film and advertising producers
or as part of audio CD compilations.
http://www.ingrooves.com
(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Friday reported on a new plasma screen TV
in development at Sony that will feature a built-in Internet connection
and tuners for receiving broadcasts from cable, satellite and over-the-air
transmissions, as well as the ability to stream video from a home network
server. According to Sony sources, the company has partnered with
streaming media firms including On2, RealNetworks and Secure Media on the
project, codenamed "Altair."
http://news.com.com/2100-1031-995467.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed
(New York) The New York Times recently reported on the growing number of
online services that rent video game titles by mail, similar to online DVD
rental giant Netflix. Like Netflix, companies such as GameLender,
RedOctane, GoVoJo, GameFly, Spunel, VeeGeeZ, NonStopGames, and NumbThumb
do not charge late fees, an attractive feature since many games take
between 40 to 60 gameplay hours to "conquer." Many such services suffer
from not stocking enough popular titles, meaning it often takes weeks for
a sought-after title to arrive, although subscribers in California tend to
fare better than those on the East Coast.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/03/technology/circuits/03basi.html
(Cupertino, Calif.) Apple enthusiast site AppleInsider reports that
sources inside the company have said that Apple's rumored digital music
service is currently scheduled to launch later this month, on April 28.
According to the sources, the service will feature a la carte payment
rather than a monthly subscription fee, and will let users stream
30-second samples of songs before purchasing and downloading tracks
directly into their iTunes application. Tracks will be able to be burned
onto CD, although it remains unclear in what format, as iTunes does not
currently support AAC, the previously reported secure format that the
service would use.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=112
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
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2003 Los Angeles HIPAA Security and Privacy Conference
With HIPAA DEADLINES drawing near, you can't afford to miss this
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Topics include: "What HIPAA Is & Isn't," "Health Information Privacy:
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Date: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2003
Place: Univ. of Southern California (Davidson Executive Conference Center)
Time: 8:00 AM to 12:15 PM
http://www.dataconnectors.com
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