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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- April 25, 2003
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o RIAA Dealt Blow: Judge Rules Song-Swap Programs Don't Infringe Copyrights
o Verizon, Given 14 Days to ID Song-Swappers, Files Another Legal Appeal
o Cell Phone Song ID Technology Firm Shazam Raises $6.6 Million
o "Def Jam Vendetta" Hip-Hop Video Game Spawns National Concert Tour
o E3 Video Game Expo to Showcase Over 1,300 New Games, Accessories
o Report: 13% of U.S. Consumers Own HD-Capable TV Sets
o Phone Operating System Firm Symbian in Partnership With America Online
o Vivendi Universal Games Announces Slate of Upcoming Titles
> DMW Events: Games & Mobile Forum | April 28 | NYC
> DMW Publications: March Law and Policy Report
> Featured Section: Special Offer from Discreet cleaner XL
o Briefly Noted: Namco - Todd McFarlane Productions, Electronic Arts -
"The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King," Atari - "Deer Hunter,"
Infogrames - "Humvee Assault," Microsoft - Sega?
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> Events: Streaming Media NY, May 6-8, NYC, Pipeline Safety & Security Expo
> Marketplace: HP Workstation for a PC Price, Game Industry Report,
iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
Full Classifieds located beneath "Briefly Noted" section below.
To post a Classified Ad:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/mainpostingpage.html
or contact Tinzar Than at tinzar@digitalmediawire.com
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o RIAA Dealt Blow: Judge Rules Song-Swap Programs Don't Infringe Copyrights
Los Angeles -- In a stunning turn of events in the legal battle between
the recording industry and software companies distributing peer-to-peer
file-sharing software, a federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday ruled that
the file-sharing programs Grokster and Morpheus are not liable for
copyright infringement. Judge Stephen Wilson said in his ruling that
Grokster and Streamcast Networks' Morpheus are less like Napster, which
was ruled to be infringing copyrights, and more similar to a VCR, which
can be used for both legal and illegal purposes. Wilson's decision mirrors
the landmark 1984 Betamax decision that gave the VCR the legal footing
needed to propel it to its current ubiquitous status in homes worldwide.
"Defendants distribute and support software, the users of which can and do
choose to employ it for both lawful and unlawful ends," Wilson wrote in
his opinion. "Grokster and StreamCast are not significantly different from
companies that sell home video recorders or copy machines, both of which
can be and are used to infringe copyrights." The ruling does not
immediately impact the more popular Kazaa software, which has also been
sued by the recording and motion picture industries. The Recording
Industry Association of America told CNET News.com it intends to appeal
the ruling.
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998363.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=2633222
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o Verizon, Given 14 Days to ID Song-Swappers, Files Another Legal Appeal
Washington -- A federal judge on Friday gave Internet access provider
Verizon two weeks to turn over to the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) the identity of two of its subscribers who allegedly were
trading songs on file-sharing systems using the company's network. U.S.
District Judge John Bates denied two Verizon motions to rule the RIAA's
subpoenas invalid; a new Verizon motion filed on Friday will seek an
immediate U.S. Appeals Court stay of Judge Bates' ruling. "Today's ruling
goes far beyond the interests of large copyright monopolists -- such as
RIAA -- in enforcing its copyrights," said Verizon senior vice president
and deputy general counsel John Thorne. "This decision exposes anyone who
uses the Internet to potential predators, scam artists and crooks,
including identity thieves and stalkers." The RIAA applauded Friday's
ruling. "Today's decision makes clear that these individuals cannot rely
on their (Internet service providers) to shield them from accountability,"
said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "If users of pirate peer-to-peer sites
don't want to be identified, they should not break the law by illegally
distributing music."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030424/nyth195_1.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998268.html?tag=fd_top
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o Cell Phone Song ID Technology Firm Shazam Raises $6.6 Million
London -- Shazam Entertainment, a developer of technology that lets users
identify songs by playing them through a cell phone, announced that it has
raised $6.6 million in its second round of venture capital financing. IDG
Ventures Europe led the investment round, which also included
participation from IDG Ventures China and Lynx New Media. London-based
Shazam already has relationships with a number of major and independent
record labels for the service, as well as with mobile carriers and
retailers including Vodafone (UK & Germany), Orange, T-Mobile, O2, Virgin
Mobile and Amazon.com.
http://www.shazamentertainment.com
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o "Def Jam Vendetta" Hip-Hop Video Game Spawns National Concert Tour
New York -- Def Jam Records announced on Friday that it will launch the
"Def Jam Vendetta Tour," featuring live performances from the hip-hop
artists featured in the new "Def Jam Vendetta" video game for PlayStation
2 and GameCube. Concerts on the 21-city tour will include performances
from Keith Murray, CNN, Joe Budden and Caddillac Tah, and will be hosted
by platinum-selling artist Method Man. The tour will also include local
video game tournaments, with the top scorer winning a chance to challenge
Method Man in the game.
http://www.defjamvendetta.com
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o E3 Video Game Expo to Showcase Over 1,300 New Games, Accessories
Los Angeles -- Over 1,300 new computer and video games and related
products will be introduced at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo
(E3), the industry's largest annual video game convention scheduled to
take place May 14-16 in Los Angeles. Of the new video games to be
unveiled, exhibitors at the event told its organizers that 57.3 percent
will be for video game consoles; 26.7 percent will be for PC; 8.6 percent
will be for handheld game devices; 4.7 percent will be for PDAs, wireless
phones and other; and 2.6 percent will be online/Internet games. E3
organizers report that 83 percent of exhibitors said their new products
would be available for sale in time for the holiday shopping season.
http://www.e3expo.com
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o Report: 13% of U.S. Consumers Own HD-Capable TV Sets
Boston -- A new survey indicates that 81 percent of consumers are
generally familiar with the technology of high-definition television
(HDTV), with 13 percent saying they already own an HDTV-capable set and
7.6 percent saying they plan to purchase one within the next six months.
Conducted by Boston-based Dove Consulting, the survey also found that 32
percent of all HDTV owners surveyed indicated that they would consider
switching providers for HD programming, and more than three-fourths of
HDTV owners are willing to pay a fee for an HD programming package. "HDTV
owners have the potential to become very valuable customers through
fee-based and subscription services," said Dove Consulting managing
director Bob Davis.
http://www.consultdove.com
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o Phone Operating System Firm Symbian in Partnership With America Online
London -- Symbian, a developer of operating system software for
smartphones and other portable devices, announced a partnership with
America Online where AOL will develop its wireless instant messaging
services -- AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ -- as well as its predictive
text input software, T9 Text Input, for Symbian OS mobile phones. AOL will
also develop content-based services and applications for Symbian OS. "By
becoming a Symbian Platinum Partner, we can more easily and effectively
deploy a broad range of media and entertainment content to Symbian
licensees who manufacture over 75 per cent of the world's mobile phones
sold today," said AOL Mobile vice president and general manager Bill
Schwebel. Symbian's operating system is used in phones made by Motorola,
Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson.
http://www.symbian.com/news/2003/pr030424.html
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o Vivendi Universal Games Announces Slate of Upcoming Titles
Los Angeles -- Vivendi Universal Games, the video game publishing arm of
the Franco-American media conglomerate, on Friday announced details of the
launches of a number of upcoming video game titles. The company said its
title "The Hobbit," based on J.R.R. Tolkein's novel of the same name, will
come out in the fall for all three major consoles and Game Boy Advance. A
game based on the classic sci-fi TV series "Battlestar Galactica,"
currently in development at U.K.-based Warthog Games, will be released in
the fall for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to coincide with a new original Sci-Fi
Channel "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries. Japan-based video game
developer Genki is working on "The Fast and the Furious," based on the
motion picture, for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, while Magenta Software and
Digital Eclipse Software are creating versions of "The Cat in the Hat,"
based on the Dr. Seuss book and upcoming DreamWorks film, for console and
the PC, respectively. Vivendi also reports that Albany, NY-based studio
Vicarious Visions is developing "Crash Nitro Kart," a sequel in the Crash
Bandicoot franchise, and Digital Eclipse Software will release "Spyro:
Attack of the Rhynocs," a new addition to the Spyro the Dragon franchise,
for Game Boy Advance in the fourth quarter.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030425/laf006_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030425/laf007_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030425/laf009_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030425/laf005_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030425/laf008_1.html
http://www.vugames.com
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DMW Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28, New York City
==========================================
Join us, leading professionals and members of the press for a cutting-edge
executive forum examining recent developments in games and mobile
entertainment. The 1-day event at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC
features 3 keynotes from leading game industry CEOs, 4 discussion panels,
exhibits and tech demos, followed by an evening of cocktails, appetizers,
networking and fun at Samsung's web2zone.com Cyber & Gaming Center in the
heart of downtown Manhattan. Early Bird registration is only $200
(includes full-day pass and after-party) until April 25:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events/Games&MobileForum_04282003.htm
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DMW Publications: March Law & Policy Report
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Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order.
To purchase directly, go to:
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.php
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Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/marketplace.php
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==================
FEATURED SECTION
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Featured Section posting at:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/featuredpostingpage.htm
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Briefly Noted:
(San Jose, Calif.) Video game developer Namco announced that it has signed
a licensing agreement with Todd McFarlane Productions that will result in
the creation of a new game based on McFarlane's comic book character
Spawn. The game, tentatively titled "Spawn," will be released in the fall
for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. McFarlane's company will also create
a line of action figures based on Namco's game "Soul Calibur II," which
will be released this summer.
http://www.namco.com/usa_index.html
http://www.spawn.com
(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts announced on Friday
that it plans to release "The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King,"
based on the upcoming New Line Cinema movie, in the fall of 2003. The
console and PC versions of the title are currently being developed by EA's
Redwood Shores Studio. The Game Boy Advance version is being developed by
Kirkland, Wash.-based Griptonite Games. The New Line Cinema film "The Lord
of the Rings, The Return of the King" will debut in theaters on Dec. 17,
2003.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030425/255118_1.html
http://www.griptonite.com
http://lordoftherings.eagames.com
(Beverly, Mass.) Video game publisher Atari said that it will release a
version of its "Deer Hunter" title for PlayStation 2 in the fall. Laguna
Hills, Calif.-based Coresoft is currently developing the game, which will
feature an online component for owners of Sony's Network Adaptor. Atari,
which originally developed the franchise, also said that Southlogic
Studios is working on "Deer Hunter 2004" for PC, also due for release in
the fall.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030423/235080_1.html
http://www.coresoftgames.com
(Beverly, Mass.) Video game publisher Infogrames said on Friday it shipped
its "Humvee Assault" PC game, featuring the all-terrain military and
sports utility vehicle, to retailers this week. The 3D, third-person
shooter title was developed by New York-based Sylum Entertainment.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030425/255199_1.html
http://www.sylum.com
(San Francisco) CNET News.com recently reported on an item from a Japanese
newspaper, indicating that Microsoft has told game developer Sega that it
is interested in buying a stake in the company. Sega has confirmed that it
is in talks with both Japanese pinball machine maker Sammy and fellow game
developer Namco concerning possible mergers, but neither Sega nor
Microsoft would confirm rumors of any negotiations between the two
companies. Independent game developer Electronic Arts has also been cited
as a potential suitor for Sega.
http://news.com.com/2100-1043-998084.html?tag=cd_mh
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
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For more information, or to register to attend, go to
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May 22-23, 2003 at the Crystal City Marriott in Crystal City, VA. Top
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CLASSIFIEDS - MARKETPLACE
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