archives

o Napster Gets Temporary Stay of Judge's "100% Effective Filters" Ruling
o Video Pipeline Gains Support of Retailers in Dispute with Disney Unit
o Microsoft Partnering with Murdoch's Sky Global Networks on UltimateTV
o Uplister Forming Music Subscription Service with Indie Labels
o Sony-Universal Subscription Service to Run On MP3.com Technology
o Media Distribution Provider Preview Systems to Dissolve on July 25
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: Interactive TV | Los Angeles | July 25
o Briefly Noted: InterTrust v. Microsoft, Freelancer protests, Loudeye -
XM Satellite Radio, Windows Media - Apple OS X, "Sizzlin' Sounds of Late
Night," Mainframe Entertainment - MTV, OnCommand - USA Today, BeyondGuide, Amazon.com "e-Documents," BoycottAdobe.com, 128-bit video games, Random House v. RosettaBooks
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Programmer/Analyst, Lead Program Manager,
Content Database Specialist

> Events/Services: "Human Resources Seminar," "Digital Rights
Management," "Web Hosting Expo"

Full Job/Event/Services 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/Service: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o Napster Gets Temporary Stay of Judge's "100% Effective Filters" Ruling

San Francisco -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Napster a
stay of lower court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's ruling that said that its
filters -- which block unauthorized copyrighted songs -- must be "100
percent effective" before it would be allowed to re-start file-sharing on
its service. "We recognize that this is not an exact science," the
appellate court wrote in its ruling, if effect giving Napster the right to
resume file-trading. The Court of Appeals' stay is temporary while it
deliberates further. Napster has not decided if it will resume trading;
the service has in fact been offline since July 2 to fix technical
problems with the filters. The company said in court last week that its
filters were capable of 99.4 percent efficiency, but the RIAA argues that
any file that can be copied is potentially damning, because of the ease of
copying and distributing MP3s. "We are confident that after a thorough
review, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will uphold Judge Patel's
decision," RIAA General Counsel Cary Sherman said, in a statement.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6605948.html
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=433
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o Video Pipeline Gains Support of Retailers in Dispute with Disney Unit

Haddonfield, N.J. -- Video Pipeline, a provider of streaming movie
previews to video rental stores and retail websites, announced on Thursday
that it has filed a motion in opposition to Disney-subsidiary Buena Vista
Home Entertainment's (BVHE) request for a preliminary injunction against
the company. The injunction asks that the court prevent Video Pipeline
from distributing streaming video movie previews for BVHE films as part of
a copyright infringement suit that seeks over $111 million in damages
against Video Pipeline. New Jersey-based Video Pipeline had previously
asked a New Jersey court to declare that its service did not infringe on
BVHE's copyrights, because it believes "retailers may promote the sale of
lawful copies using samples that do not "usurp" the value of the original
in the same way a book store encourages customers browse a few pages of a
book before purchasing it." A "friend of the court" brief has been filed
on behalf of Video Pipeline by the Video Software Dealers Association and
the National Association of Recording Merchandisers.
http://www.videopipeline.com
http://www.bvhe.com
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o Microsoft Partnering with Murdoch's Sky Global Networks on UltimateTV

New York -- Microsoft will partner with Rupert Murdoch's Sky Global
Networks, a division of News Corp., to create an upgraded version of its
UltimateTV service, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Microsoft sees the partnership with the satellite TV programming provider
as a means of marketing new versions of its combination personal video
recorder device and interactive television service to foreign markets.
Currently, Microsoft's UltimateTV service is only distributed through
Hughes Electronics' DirecTV and is estimated to have only acquired 30,000
subscribers since it became available to consumers in January.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB995500279315275204.html
http://www.ultimatetv.com
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o Uplister Forming Music Subscription Service with Indie Labels

Oakland, Calif. -- Adding to the growing number of companies to announce
plans for a digital music subscription service, Uplister said on Thursday
that it has partnered with a number of independent record labels to launch
such a service. The company has to this point pushed its community of
users that create and share lists of their favorite songs with one
another, but will now also offer unlimited digital downloads starting at
$10 per month. Labels to sign on for the service include TVT Records,
Beggars Group, Matador Records, Knitting Factory/Shimmy Disc and Lookout!
Records. Some of the bands whose music will appear on the service -- which
is slated to launch in beta version this summer -- are Cat Power, Mogwai,
Sevendust, The Cult and Yo La Tengo. The company has also secured a
performance licensing agreement with BMI and is pursuing others. The
service will use Microsoft Windows Media technology and will be available
to license by third parties. Oakland-based Uplister plans to launch the
complete service by the end of the year.
http://www.uplister.com
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o Sony-Universal Subscription Service to Run On MP3.com Technology

San Diego -- MP3.com announced on Thursday that its technology will
provide infrastructure for Sony Music and Universal Music Group's digital
music subscription music venture, Pressplay. San Diego-based MP3.com will
contribute content delivery and subscription management technology to the
service, which is scheduled to launch this summer. The announcement was
expected after Vivendi Universal agreed to purchase MP3.com for $372
million.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010719/lath020.html
http://www.pressplay.com/
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o Media Distribution Provider Preview Systems to Dissolve on July 25

Mountain View, Calif. -- Preview Systems, a provider of software and music
distribution systems, said it will record its last stock transactions and
dissolve the company on July 25. The company suffered heavy losses and as
a result sold its software distribution technology to Aladdin Knowledge
Systems for $5 million and its digital music distribution technology to
Matsushita Electric for $1 million. The company will return $3.50 per
share to its stockholders on August 10, 2001.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010719/nyth047.html
http://www.previewsystems.com
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> Digital Media Wire Presents a Panel Discussion:
"iTV: Defining the New Face of Television"

Los Angeles | Wednesday, July 25th at the Four Seasons Hotel

SPONSORS:
Deloitte Consulting
Jones Day Reavis & Pogue

This panel of players ranging from content providers to hardware
developers will discuss the new face of television, which will include
anamalgam of services like email, IPGs (interactive program guides), PVRs
(personal video recorders), enhanced TV, etc., and what it means for
Hollywood, the tech industry and most importantly, the consumer.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAitv.html

MODERATOR:
Michael Kline - Senior Manager | Deloitte Consulting

SPEAKERS:
Amy Friedlander - VP Business Development | Intertainer
Edward Monnier - Director of BizDev & Strategy | Liberty Digital
David Nathanson - Director, Broadband Strategy | Fox Cable Networks
Arthur Orduna - VP Marketing | Canal Plus Technologies
Erik Smith - Director of Content Partnerships | Liberate Technologies

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATION:
larta - the technology alliance for southern California

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAitv.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Digital rights management (DRM) software developer
InterTrust said on Thursday that it has expanded its patent infringement
case against Microsoft. The suit now includes DRM technology related to
Microsoft's e-book reader software. Santa Clara-based InterTrust has also
sued Microsoft for patent infringements of its audio DRM technology. Those
claims seek to prevent the company from distributing its Windows XP
operating system, because the Windows Media DRM technology embedded in the
system allegedly infringes on InterTrust patents. The new claim seeks to
prevent Microsoft from distributing its Microsoft Reader and Digital Asset
Server software.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010719/2167.html
http://www.intertrust.com 

(New York) CNET reported that freelance writers gathered outside the
offices of The New York Times Thursday afternoon to protest the paper's
unwillingness to compensate them for reprinting their writings in their
electronic archives. A recent Supreme Court ruling sided with the
freelancers, and in response publications like The Times have begun
deleting such articles from their archives. "When the Napster issue came
up they were all for defending copyrights," said Dian Killian, organizer
for the National Writers Union. "They had editorials in The New York
Times. When it comes to the freelancer, it's a very different story." The
writers are seeking to negotiate with The Times on a settlement.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6615430.html?tag=cd_mh

(Seattle) Loudeye Technologies, a provider of encoding and hosting
services to digital media content businesses, announced on Thursday that
it will encode and catalog over 1.2 million songs for XM Satellite Radio's
satellite-delivered digital radio service. D.C.-based XM's radio service
is scheduled to launch this summer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010719/sfth014.html
http://www.loudeye.com
http://www.xmradio.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft announced on Thursday that its version of the
Windows Media Player for Apple's upcoming OS X operating system will be
available this fall. The media player will be "carbonized," based on
Apple's new Carbon APIs, which will give it features like multiprocessing
and a consistent look with other Apple programs that utilize its new
"Aqua" interface.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010719/sfth057.html
http://www.windowsmedia.com

(Chicago, Illinois) Wendy's fast food restaurant chain is offering a grand
prize of a daylong recording session with producer Eddie Kramer to the
songwriter who can compose "an original song that expresses their late
night cravings for a hot, juicy hamburger." Partners in the contest are
RollingStone.com, Sonic Foundry and Shure Incorporated. Entries to the
"Sizzlin' Sounds of Late Night" contest can be submitted in MP3 format on
the contest website until August 31.
http://www.sizzlinsounds.com

(Vancouver, B.C.) Mainframe Entertainment, a developer of computer
animated programming for television, announced on Thursday that it will
design and create a half hour computer animated series based on the
"Gatecrasher" comic book series for MTV. "Gatecrasher" -- produced by
Black Bull Entertainment -- is the story of a college student who is
half-human, half-alien and a member of a secret army that protects Earth
from extra-terrestrial attacks.
http://www.mainframe.ca/aboutus/news_media/2001/jul_18.html?whatsnew&1

(Denver, Colo.) OnCommand, a provider of interactive television and
video-on-demand services to hoteliers, said on Thursday that USA Today's
interactive television news service, USA Today News Center, will be
offered to its client base of 3,450 hotel properties.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010718/dcw050.html
http://www.oncommand.com

(Washington, D.C.) BeyondGuide said on Thursday that it will begin
offering a narrated tour of D.C. monuments available to cell phone users
who dial a special number. Callers who dial 1-866-33GUIDE are charged $10
for 48-hour access to "unique stories, interviews, and dramatizations of
past events that bring to life a city's attractions, people, and culture."
The service runs on technology developed by Mountain View-based TellMe
Networks. Maryland-based BeyondGuide plans to offer similar services for
New York,
San Francisco, Boston, London, Paris, Rome and Berlin.
http://www.beyondguide.com
http://www.tellme.com

(Seattle) Amazon.com on Thursday launched an "e-Documents" store that will
sell investor research reports, journal articles, reference material,
magazine archives and other research documents. Content providers for the
store include Accenture, Gartner, Inc., Harvard Business Review, IDC,
Reuters Business Insight and Zona Research. The documents will be
delivered in Adobe's Acrobat Reader format.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010719/0059.html
http://www.amazon.com/edocuments

(San Francisco) Wired News reported Thursday on the reaction to the arrest
of a Russian programmer at a U.S. hacker convention by the FBI, in
connection with his alleged distribution of software that can be used to
defeat the encryption on Adobe Acrobat Reader files. The article describes
the efforts of sympathetic programmers to rally around the Russian and
protest Adobe's "abusing U.S. copyright law to protect their cash-flow."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45342,00.html
http://www.boycottadobe.com

(Redmond, Wash.) MSNBC.com offered a feature story Thursday on the
relevance of polygons and processor speeds such as "128-bit," "64-bit" and
"32-bit" when discussing the power of video game consoles like Sony's
PlayStation 2 or Microsoft's Xbox. One revelation to come out of the
article is that there are not display terminals in existence, nor has
there been software yet written that could render the full output
capabilities of the 128-bit processor that powers Sony's PlayStation 2.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/601653.asp?0dm=C12NT

(New York) The New York Times on Thursday offered an analysis of the
ongoing Random House v. RosettaBooks litigation. The case is set to
determine whether older contracts with authors that cover all versions of
their works "in book form" apply to the new medium of e-books. The article
features interviews with RosettaBooks founder Arthur Klebanoff, Random
House president of new media Richard Sarnoff and the publisher's general
counsel, Harriette K. Dorsen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/business/19BOOK.html
http://www.rosettabooks.com/pages/legal.html

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

> Music Reports, Inc., Programmer/Analyst - Los Angeles

Duties include database & software design, development, coding & testing
for business applications, as well as trouble-shooting & maintenance of
existing systems. Must have extensive coding experience in a complex
relational database/data warehouse environment that includes title
matching for large volumes of data from various sources designing &
implementing technical solutions for research, data retrieval, delivery
and reporting. Send resumes to: Dbrainin@musicreports.com
http://www.musicreports.com
______________________

> MusicNet, Lead Program Manager - Seattle

Direct & manage the overall activities of a team of program managers &
coordinate cross-group and/or cross-division projects. Projects involve
assessing new technologies & developing product development plans,
estimating resources & costs, schedules & work development plans.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent in computer science, business or related
field, plus 3 years experience in project management and software
development.
Send resumes to: resumes@musicnet.com and include the job title.
http://www.musicnet.com
______________________

> The Sharper Image, Content Database Specialist - San Francisco

Manage The Sharper Image websites. Development & maintain ongoing
production schedules, updates, content & art placement. Produce style
guides for site continuity. Manage 3-person team involved in site content
management, updates and brand presentation. 3+ yrs. experience managing
people in a production or development setting required. Send resumes to:
tsi@rpc.webhire.com
http://www.sharperimage.com

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

> Human Resources Seminar: Recruitment, Retention and "Rightsizing"

"Managing Your People in the Current Market: Recruitment, Retention and
Rightsizing." The panelists will share their varied expertise on
compensation, outplacement, legal issues, employee communications, and
recruitment tools in the current market. When: Wednesday, July 25, 2001.
Where: McLean Hilton. For more information and to register for this event:
http://www.potomactechwire.com/seminar10.htm
______________________

> Digital Rights Management, September 20-21 - New York City

DRM for Sports, Media & Entertainment -- Learn How To Monetize & Protect
Content, Digital Assets & Intellectual Property. Featuring Forecasts, Case
Studies & Strategies from: AOL Time Warner, Sony Music, NY Times, National
Hockey League, A&E Networks, Microsoft Corporation, BET, Artisan,
Reciprocal, IBM, NASCAR Digital Entertainment and many more! Contact
dmitry@worldrg.com -- mention this ad for a special discount!
http://www.DRMconference.com
______________________

> Web Hosting Expo, August 20-22 - Washington, D.C.

Web Hosting Expo is the conference and exhibit dedicated to business &
technology of Internet infrastructure. It brings together web hosts,
ASPs/MSPs, colo/data center players for 3 days of deal making, idea
exchanges and marathon networking. Learn from 70 industry leading
exhibitors and 50+ conference sessions and panels delivered by industry
experts. Send inquiries to techwire@infotonic.com
http://www.whexpo.com
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