archives

o Report: File-Sharing Increases Music Sales Among Swappers, CD Burners
o Industry Firms Create Trade Association: Interactive Television Alliance
o Sonicblue Ordered to Turn Over ReplayTV User Info to Studios, Networks
o Adobe Systems Wins Patent Infringement Judgment Against Macromedia
o Nintendo Launches GameCube in Europe, Acquires Developer Retro Studios
> Digital Media Wire Wine Tasting Event: Los Angeles | May 9
o Briefly Noted: Franklin Electronic Publishers - AOL Time Warner Books,
LodgeNet - Starwood Hotels, Showtime Networks - Dolby Digital 5.1, Id
Software - "Doom III" - Activision
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o Report: File-Sharing Increases Music Sales Among Swappers, CD Burners

New York -- File-sharing services such as Kazaa, Morpheus and the
beleaguered Napster, all of which have been sued by the recording industry
and blamed for slumping sales, actually have the effect of increasing
music sales, according to a report released on Friday by analyst firm
Jupiter Media Metrix. The report was created from a survey of 3,319 people
conducted last summer, and finds that experienced file sharers are 75
percent more likely than the average online music fan to buy more music.
Meanwhile, consumers with file-sharing capabilities, CD burners and
broadband connections are 95 percent more likely to buy music than the
average online music fan. "It is safe to say that active usage of online
music content is one of the best predictors of increased consumer
purchasing, said Jupiter senior analyst Aram Sinnreich. "Thus, music
sellers should devote their limited resources to online marketing and
distribution -- rather than eradicating the phantom threat of
file-sharing, if they truly wish to stanch the blood flow and turn the
music market around." Jupiter argues in its report that decreased
worldwide sales in the music industry are being caused by normal market
cyclicity, an overall decrease in consumer spending, competition from
other entertainment, end of the CD growth spurt where consumers upgraded
from other formats and the industry's reliance on a few massive hits to
account for the bulk of revenues -- which there were fewer of last year.
http://www.jmm.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-898813.html?tag=cd_mh
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o Industry Firms Create Trade Association: Interactive Television Alliance

Los Angeles -- A group of industry firms including networks, ad agencies,
production companies, hardware manufacturers, cable and satellite TV
operators, and middleware and application companies have formed a trade
association called the Interactive Television Alliance. The goal of the
group -- whose founding members include Liberate, NBC, OpenTV, Canal Plus,
ACTV and WorldGate -- is to aggressively promote interactive television
deployment through consumer awareness campaigns and cross-industry
outreach. "In recent years there has been no single organization
representing the full range of concerns for the iTV industry in the U.S.,
and that has contributed to its delayed start here," said iTV Alliance
president Ben Mendelson. The association will focus on creating strong
partnerships with advertisers and content providers to facilitate the
creation of new business models, and will soon launch an extensive public
awareness campaign. "We believe the influential companies in this alliance
will drive iTV from adoption to strong market deployment worldwide," said
Charlie Tritschler, vice president of marketing for Liberate Technologies.
The Interactive Television Alliance's first meeting is slated to take
place next Tuesday during the National Cable and Telecommunications
Association (NCTA) conference in New Orleans.
http://www.itvalliance.org
http://cable2002.com
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o Sonicblue Ordered to Turn Over ReplayTV User Info to Studios, Networks

Los Angeles -- A federal magistrate has ordered that consumer electronics
firm Sonicblue, which manufactures the ReplayTV line of personal video
recorders, collect and hand over information on which TV shows consumers
record and send to friends, as well as which commercials they skip, to the
studios and networks suing the company for copyright infringement, The San
Jose Mercury News reported. "We've been ordered to invade the privacy of
our customers," Sonicblue CEO Ken Potashner told The Merc. "This is
something that we find personally very troubling." The studios and
networks allege that the device robs them of advertising and subscription
revenue because consumers can use a ReplayTV to skip through commercials
and send a copy of a premium program, such as an HBO show, over the
Internet to another consumer who has not paid to subscribe to the service.
"None of the data the plaintiffs are seeking identifies any individuals,"
Disney spokeswoman Michelle Bergman told The Merc. "We respect viewer
privacy and. are simply protecting our copyrighted content and all whose
livelihoods are dependent on it." Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sonicblue
plans to ask a federal district court trial judge to review the
magistrate's ruling.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/3186191.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APNLe_BOm
U29uaWNi&ao=17124981
http://www.sonicblue.com
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o Adobe Systems Wins Patent Infringement Judgment Against Macromedia

San Francisco -- Adobe Systems, a provider of Web and desktop publishing
software, has been awarded a $2.8 million judgment against Macromedia,
developer of the ubiquitous Flash software and other Web applications. A
jury ruled that Macromedia's Flash software and other products were
infringing on Adobe's "tabbed palette" technology, which allows users of
software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to display and work with
multiple sets of information in the same area of the computer screen. "We
are very pleased with the verdict," said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice
president of Adobe's graphics business unit. "We've maintained all along
that Macromedia infringes this patent." Macromedia responded to the ruling
in a statement. "It is unfortunate, and we believe wrong, that Adobe has
chosen this field to compete. Ultimately, it is our customers, and
particularly our mutual customers, that will be harmed," said Macromedia
CEO Rob Burgess. Macromedia filed a countersuit against Adobe, claiming
the company infringes several of its patents; arguments will begin to be
heard on these claims on Monday.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020502/20405_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020502/sfth083_1.html
http://www.adobe.com/adobefacts/examples.html
http://www.macromedia.com
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o Nintendo Launches GameCube in Europe, Acquires Developer Retro Studios

London -- Nintendo began selling its GameCube video game console in Europe
on Friday, reporting sales of 10,000 in Britain in the first two hours and
50,000 pre-orders through online retailers, Reuters reported. Nintendo
shipped 500,000 GameCubes to the region and spent about $91 on a marketing
campaign in preparation for the launch. "The potential in Europe is huge,"
David Gocen, managing director of Nintendo Europe, told Reuters. "It is a
market we intend to be successful in." The GameCube sells for about $180
in Europe and $189 in the U.K., an almost $100 price advantage over rival
consoles manufactured by Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo also announced on
Friday that it has become the majority owner of Austin, Texas-based game
developer Retro Studios. The company purchased an undisclosed number of
Retro shares from now former owner Jeff Spangenberg. Retro is responsible
for developing "Metroid Prime," based on the original Nintendo console
title, which will be released later this year.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-898390.html?tag=fd_top
http://www.cube-europe.com/index.shtml
http://www.nintendo.com/news/news_articles.jsp?articleID=6599
http://www.retrostudios.com
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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PRESENTS:
A Spring Celebration and Wine Tasting Honoring
Digital Media Wire Panelists

> Thursday, May 9, 2002, Los Angeles

To register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=22553&Referrer_id=4074

Join us and a distinguished group of our past panelists for a Spring
celebration featuring fine wines, delicious Asian appetizers and
networking.

WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 2002 (6:30PM - 8:30PM)
WHERE: Lucky Duck Restaurant (NE corner of La Brea and Wilshire)
PRICE: $25 (pre-registration); $30 (at the door)

Tasting and wines by Beaulieu Vineyard. Since 1900, BV has been a
benchmark of excellence in Napa Valley wines. Appetizers including crispy
Vietnamese spring rolls, chicken and beef satay, shrimp summer rolls and
vegetable dumplings by Lucky Duck Restaurant. For more information,
contact Ned Sherman at esherman@digitalmediawire.com or visit

http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=22553&Referrer_id=4074

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One Show Interactive's Big Night - Wednesday, May 8th - New York City

One Show Interactive (named the top international award show for new
media) is holding its annual award gala in New York City on Wednesday, May
8th, 2002. The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street (corner of Houston
Street) New York. Tickets $100 per person, Corporate tables for six $500.
Reception 6:30-8:00pm. Awards Show 8-10pm. Party 10-Midnight. Come,
celebrate and party and watch the best of advertising's interactive and
new media. For tickets: (212) 979-1900 or email: tickets@oneclub.com

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o Briefly Noted:

(Burlington, N.J.) Franklin Electronic Publishers, a manufacturer of
e-book reader devices, announced on Friday that AOL Time Warner Books will
distribute e-book titles through its online network. The agreement
includes titles by best-selling authors from Warner Books and Little,
Brown and Company. "We are continuing to support eBook publishing," said
Laurence J. Kirshbaum, chairman of AOL Time Warner Book Group. "Franklin's
ability to reach more handheld eBook reading devices and PDAs with one
secure file format is very inviting." New Jersey-based Franklin says it
has sold over 27 million e-books to date and publishes over 200 titles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020503/phf019_1.html
http://www.franklin.com

(Sioux Falls, S.D.) LodgeNet, a provider of interactive TV and broadband
Internet access to hoteliers, announced on Friday an expanded agreement
with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, whereby it will install
digital interactive systems to an additional 20,000 Starwood rooms. The
new agreement covers Sheraton and Four Points hotels, and also renews
LodgeNet's existing contract on 25,000 Starwood rooms. South Dakota-based
LodgeNet provides systems that offer hotel guests on-demand digital
movies, digital music and music videos, Nintendo video games and other
digital television programming services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020503/mnf003_1.html
http://www.lodgenet.com
http://www.starwood.com

(New York) Cable TV network Showtime Networks said on Friday that it has
begun broadcasting all of its 32 standard definition and HDTV channels in
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Dolby Laboratories estimates more than
10 million households have a set-top box capable of outputting Dolby
Digital 5.1 via satellite or digital cable television.
http://dolby.sho.com
http://www.dolby.com/tvaudio

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Id Software, creator of the popular PC game "Doom,"
announced on Friday that Santa Monica-based Activision will be the
worldwide licensed distributor for "Doom III," currently in development
and due to be introduced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo later this
month in Los Angeles. Mesquite, Texas-based Id Software released the first
version of "Doom" in 1993 and is also responsible for games like "Quake"
and "Wolfenstein 3D."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020503/laf018_1.html
http://www.idsoftware.com/games/doom/doom-final/
http://www.activision.com
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Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire