archives

o European Commission Approves Digital Copyright Law
o Napster, RIAA Back in Court to Examine Song-Blocking Compliance
o Founders to Re-launch Animation Site Icebox.com
o Wireless Entertainment Developer Springtoys Raises $10.8 Million
o Web Event Listing Provider Yack.com Announces New CEO, Layoffs
o Online Copyright Service iCopyright Acquired by Data Depth
o Space.com CEO Lou Dobbs Steps Down to Return as Anchor for CNN
o Video Compression Developer Essential Viewing Raises $2.2 Million
> Digital Media Wire Panels: "Digital Copyright Crossroads" - LA, D.C.
o Briefly Noted: Adobe - Amazon.com, NHL - Virage, Walt Disney Company,
MediaUnbound, Reciprocal - V2 Records, MovieTickets.com - Hoyts Cinema
Corp., Japan.MP3.com, Riot Entertainment - The Punisher, MP3Karaoke.com -
EMI Music Publishing, OpenTV, Chasma - Qualcomm, ContentGuard - Digital
Goods, SwiftCD.com - Ampcast.com
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> Job Postings: General Manager/VP Client Development, Copywriter,
Researcher/Editor

> Events/Services: "Stanford Media and Entertainment Conference,"
"Call for Entries: Short Attention Span Festival"

Full Job/Event descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section or at
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html
To Post an Event: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o European Commission Approves Digital Copyright Law

Brussels -- The European Commission has approved new copyright laws that
will apply to digital media. The directive was also recently approved by
the European Parliament, and will allow copyright holders the right to
prevent unauthorized copying of music, movies and books online. The new
laws will not allow the unauthorized free trading of copyrighted digital
files, but will allow users to make several copies for private use.
Exceptions to the new laws were granted for "technical copies" made on
users' computers during the process of distributing digital media, as well
as to give schools and libraries the ability to bypass anti-circumvention
technologies in distribution schemes. Each member-state of the European
Union was given a degree of selection as to how to interpret the new laws,
and have 18 months within which to ratify them.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/01/528|0|RAPID&lg=EN
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o Napster, RIAA Back in Court to Examine Song-Blocking Compliance

San Francisco -- Napster and labels represented by the RIAA go back to
court Tuesday to examine Napster's compliance thus far with a preliminary
injunction that forced the company to block unauthorized copyrighted songs
from its file-trading service. New to the debate will be court-appointed
mediator A.J. "Nick" Nichols, who also served as a neutral court expert in
Sun Microsystems' suit against Microsoft, CNET reported. Napster claims it
is complying with the injunction, having filtered over 300,000 songs from
its service, while the RIAA contests that virtually all of the songs it
submitted to the company are still available for download. Nichols has
been appointed as an independent expert who will examine the situation and
determine whether or not Napster is in compliance.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5552003.html?tag=cd_mh
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o Founders to Re-launch Animation Site Icebox.com

Los Angeles -- Recently-shuttered Animation site Icebox.com, the creator
of Web-based series such as "Mr. Wong" and "Zombie College," will be
brought back online, according to Inside.com. Five of the company's
founders and several executives bought the company's assets at auction,
and have already reportedly syndicated content to New York-based Mondo
Media.
http://www.icebox.com
http://www.mondomedia.com
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o Wireless Entertainment Developer Springtoys Raises $10.8 Million

Helsinki, Finland -- Springtoys, a developer of wireless entertainment and
technology, announced that it has raised $10.8 million in its most recent
round of venture capital financing. Wellington Partners led the investment
round; Enel Capital, Eqvitec Partners, Housemarque, Shamrock Capital
Growth Fund and Sonera also participated. Helsinki-based Springtoys
develops games for wireless devices, as well as technology that enables
game developers to create wireless games. The company's partners include
Motorola, Ericsson, Sonera and Palm.
http://www.springtoys.com
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o Web Event Listing Provider Yack.com Announces New CEO, Layoffs

New York -- Online event listing provider Yack.com announced on Tuesday
that Steve Fredericks has been named president and CEO of the company.
Former CEO Jeff Morris has stepped down and resigned from the company's
board to pursue other interests. Previously, Steve Fredericks served as
New York-based Yack.com's CFO and COO. The company also announced that it will lay off an undisclosed number of employees as a result of
consolidation of its operations into its New York office. The company will
also likely lay off engineers as a result of the completion of its
proprietary software.
http://www.yack.com
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o Online Copyright Service iCopyright Acquired by Data Depth

Sammamish, Wash. -- Data Depth, provider of a collection of informational
databases, said that it has acquired iCopyright, a provider of online
copyright clearance services, VentureWire reported. Terms of the cash
transaction were not disclosed. Washington-based Data Depth's president
and CEO Mike O'Donnell is also the founder of iCopyright; O'Donnell
stepped down from his position as CEO of iCopyright in July.
Washington-based iCopyright's technology provides readers of online
publications with the ability to legally obtain the rights to reprint,
reuse or distribute content.
http://www.icopyright.com
http://www.datadepth.com
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o Space.com CEO Lou Dobbs Steps Down to Return as Anchor for CNN

New York -- Space.com, a provider of NASA and space exploration-related
news and information, announced on Tuesday that CEO Lou Dobbs will step
down from his position to return to CNN as the anchor of "CNN Moneyline
Newshour" on May 14. Dobbs will remain on the company's board and maintain
his investments in the company. New York-based Space.com's president, John
C. Ferrara, will oversee the company until a successor can be named. "We
now have in place an outstanding management team, lead by John C. Ferrara,
who are well positioned to take the company to profitability in the next
nine months," said Dobbs.
http://www.space.com
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o Video Compression Developer Essential Viewing Raises $2.2 Million

Glasgow, Scotland -- Essential Viewing Systems, a developer of video
compression technology, announced that it has raised $2.2 million in its
second round of funding. 3i led the investment round; Scottish Equity
Partners also participated. Glasgow-based Essential Viewing Systems is
developing a video "codec" that decreases the size of video files, so that
higher-quality video can be sent to users more quickly and efficiently.
The company said it will use the funds for hiring additional engineers and
to market its product.
http://www.essential-viewing.com
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> Digital Media Wire Panels: Los Angeles, CA and Washington, D.C.

"Digital Copyright Crossroads:
Does Digital Rights Management Have The Right of Way?"

Los Angeles | Sponsored by Jones Day Reavis & Pogue
(MCLE Approval Pending)

MODERATOR:
- Jim Griffin, CEO of Cherry Lane Digital, Founder of Evolab,
Co-founder of the 'pho' list

PANELISTS:
- Scott Dinsdale, EVP of Digital Strategy,
Motion Picture Association (MPA)
- Russell Frackman, Attorney, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP,
Lead counsel for the RIAA in their litigation vs. Napster
- Robin Gross, Attorney, Fair Use & Intellectual Property,
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
- Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association (DiMA)

*Additional panelists TBA.
Date: Wednesday, April 25th, 2001
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAcopyright.html
Sponsorships >> Michael Hoinski at michael@digitalmediawire.com

- - - - -
Washington, D.C.

SPEAKERS:
- Fritz Attaway, EVP & Washington General Counsel,
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
- Russell Frackman, Attorney, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP,
Lead counsel for the RIAA in their litigation vs. Napster
- Declan McCullagh, Washington Bureau Chief, Wired News
- Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association (DiMA)

*Additonal panelists TBA.
Date: Wednesday, May 9th, 2001
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCcopyright.html
Sponsorships >> Michael Hoinski at michael@digitalmediawire.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Jose, Calif.) Adobe Systems Incorporated, a developer of e-book
reader software, announced on Tuesday a deal with online retailer
Amazon.com whereby Amazon will offer Adobe's Acrobat e-book software in
its online e-book store. San Jose-based Adobe will offer e-books in its
PDF format. The two companies plan to extend the partnership to include
Amazon's international sites in France, Germany, Japan and the United
Kingdom.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010410/sftu012.html
http://www.amazon.com/ebooks

(New York) The National Hockey League (NHL) announced on Tuesday that it
has partnered with San Jose-based Virage to develop and distribute
personalized player and team video highlight coverage of the 2001 Stanley
Cup Playoffs on NHL.com. After each game is completed, Virage will provide
NHL.com visitors video access of shots, goals, assists and saves of any
individual player or team throughout the entire Stanley Cup playoffs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010410/sftu073.html
http://www.virage.com
http://www.nhl.com

(Burbank, Calif.) The Walt Disney Company announced on Tuesday that Steven
M. Bornstein has been named president of ABC Television. Bornstein was
formerly chairman of Disney Internet Group; the company has essentially
shut down its Go.com portal, one of the Internet unit's main operations.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/211000508&ticker=

(Cambridge, Mass.) MediaUnbound, a developer of digital music
personalization software, announced on Tuesday that Thomas A. Nora has
been named the company's new president and CEO. Previously, Nora was
president and CEO of Littlefish Commerce. Massachusetts-based MediaUnbound
also announced the addition of David Levi to its board; Levi made an
undisclosed investment in the company.
http://www.mediaunbound.com/pr_04-10-2001.jsp

(New York) Digital rights management provider Reciprocal said on Tuesday
that it has partnered with V2 Records on a promotion for The Black Crowes'
new album, "Lions." New York-based Reciprocal will provide distribution of
song streams and downloads available on a website only accessible to fans
that have purchased the new CD. Users will be able to hear streams of live
Black Crowes performances, and download one new live track per week during
the promotion. The downloaded tracks can be burned to CD.
http://www.reciprocal.com/prm_rel04092001_3.asp
http://www.v2music.com

(Boston) Online movie ticket retailer MovieTickets.com announced on
Tuesday that it has partnered with Hoyts Cinema Corporation to sell
tickets online to movies shown at its 926 screens in New England. Hoyts's
theaters are located in the New England states, New York, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
http://www.movietickets.com

(San Diego) Online music provider MP3.com announced on Tuesday the launch
of its Japanese music site, Japan.MP3.com. San Diego-based MP3.com
partnered with Japanese music industry company BMF/Being Group to create
the site.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010410/latu065.html
http://www.being.co.jp
http://japan.mp3.com

(London) Wireless games developer Riot Entertainment said that it has
partnered with Marvel Comics and Finland-based Enlightment Entertainment
to create wireless games based on Marvel Comics' character The Punisher.
London-based Riot Entertainment previously worked with Marvel to develop a
wireless game based on the X-Men.
http://www.enlightment.fi/press10042001.html
http://www.riot-e.com
http://www.marvel.com/comics/characters/punisher.html

(Los Angeles) MP3Karaoke.com said on Tuesday that it has reached an
agreement with EMI Music Publishing that will allow the company to
distribute synchronized lyrics with digital music files in the new MP3i
(MP3 Interactive) digital music format. In addition to song lyrics, the
format allows album artwork, liner notes, pictures and advertising to be
embedded into MP3 files.
http://www.mp3karaoke.com

(Mountain View, Calif.) Interactive television software developer OpenTV
announced on Tuesday that James Ackerman has been appointed as the new CEO
of the company. Ackerman, who was previously president and COO of Mountain
View-based OpenTV, succeeds Jan Steerkamp, who has been appointed as
chairman of the company.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010410/0822.html
http://www.opentv.com

(Nashua, N.H.) Wireless entertainment developer Chasma said on Tuesday
that it will develop wireless games based on Qualcomm's BREW platform for
wireless entertainment. New Hampshire-based Chasma, operated entirely by a
teenage staff, develops games targeted at a youth audience.
http://www.chasma.net/

(Boston) Digital rights management (DRM) provider ContentGuard said on
Tuesday that it has partnered with content marketing firm Digital Goods.
Under the terms, the two companies will promote one another's products to
market and sell DRM-enabled digital works such as e-books, video and
music.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010410/0033.html
http://www.contentguard.com
http://www.digitalgoods.com

(Atlanta) Custom CD provider SwiftCD.com announced on Tuesday that online
indie label Ampcast.com will use the company's service to fulfill CD
orders for its artists.
http://www.swiftcd.com
http://www.ampcast.com

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Job Postings:
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> Blast Radius, General Manager/VP of Client Development - New York City

The GM/VP Client Development is responsible for guiding a client
development and operations team towards meeting revenue and operations for
the New York City office. Identify and qualify solid business
opportunities, conduct sales presentations to potential clients,
effectively manage client development and operations team.
Send resumes to vhowell@blastradius.com
http://www.blastradius.com
______________________

> nFusion Group, Copywriter - Austin, Texas

nFusion Group is seeking a Copywriter to write copy for Web sites, sales
collateral material and email newsletters. Ideal candidate will combine
strong written communications skills with a demonstrated ability to
clearly articulate key client messages. 2-3 years experience writing
marketing communications copy. B2B communications experience a plus. Send
resumes to employment@nfusiongroup.com
http://www.nfusiongroup.com
______________________

> Sekani, Researcher/Editor - Los Angeles

Top West LA broadband media and stock footage company seeks
RESEARCHER/EDITOR to join our team. Candidate should have a discerning eye
for images, should have high energy and great organizational skills.
Related experience and BA preferred. Computer and Internet savvy a must.
Send resume and salary requirements to hr@sekani.com
http://www.sekani.com

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Event Postings:
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Stanford Media and Entertainment Conference, April 14 - Palo Alto, CA

Register now for the "Future of Content: Making Convergence Real," a media
& entertainment conference to be held at the Stanford Graduate School of
Business. Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of Disney, will deliver the
keynote address. Panel discussions will cover topics including film,
music, intellectual property, mega-mergers, interactive TV, infrastructure
and more.
For more information and to register:
http://www.futureofcontent.com
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> Call for Entries: Short Attention Span Festival

The Ninth Annual Short Attention Span Film and Video Festival will travel
to 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada. Entries up to 2 minutes TRT will be
accepted. This year there is NO ENTRY FEE! Cash prizes and all kinds of
other good stuff will be awarded to the lucky winners. Official Entry
Form: http://www.shortspan.com/submit_work/index.cfm
ACT NOW! DEADLINE IS APRIL 15TH!!!
______________________

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