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Main Stories
o RIAA Withdraws File-Sharing Copyright Suit Over Mistaken Identity
o Kazaa Sues Record Labels for Antitrust Violations, Copyright Infringement
o Nintendo Slashes GameCube Price to $99
o DirecTV Pirate First Jury-Decided Convict Under Digital Copyright Act
o European Music Companies Wary of Warner Merger Plans
o Universal Caves to Retailers on CD Price-Lowering Initiative
o Vivendi Universal Narrows Losses, Lowers Debt
o European Parliament OKs Controversial Software-Patent Legislation

o Briefly Noted: DISH Network - 1 million DVRs, Microsoft - IFP Market Award for Short Films, Showtime - DISH Network, Vodafone - Eidos, Empire Interactive - Sony - "Starsky & Hutch," Electronic Arts - 2 new PC titles, TDK Mediactive, Atari, Sammy Studios

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has withdrawn one of the 261 lawsuits it filed against alleged music file-swappers, admitting that the particular suit, against a 66-year-old grandmother and "computer neophyte," was filed in error. The suit accused Newbury, Mass. native Sarah Seabury Ward of sharing over 2,000 songs on Kazaa -- although she only owns a Mac -- which is not compatible with the peer-to-peer service. Ward's lawyer, Jeffrey Beeler, wrote to the RIAA demanding the suit be dismissed "with prejudice," meaning the RIAA would agree not to sue Ward in the future. However, in a statement released by the RIAA from the Boston law firm handling the suit, Foley Hoag, the group retained its right to possibly re-file a claim against Ward. "Please note, however, that we will continue our review of the issues you raised and we reserve the right to refile the complaint against Mrs. Ward if and when circumstances warrant," wrote Foley Hoag attorney Colin J. Zick.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?G56235006 
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5081469.html
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o Kazaa Sues Record Labels for Antitrust Violations, Copyright Infringement

Los Angeles -- Sharman Networks, distributor of the Kazaa file-sharing application, has countersued the major record labels currently suing the company for copyright infringement, alleging the labels are violating federal antitrust laws with anticompetitive behavior and unfair business practices. Specifically, the suit says that Kazaa held fruitful licensing talks with labels including Universal, Warner and Interscope that were later "stymied by industry body directives." It also says that the labels colluded to apply pressure to Kazaa's advertisers, ISPs and business partners. Ironically, Kazaa also accuses the labels of copyright infringement, when they used old versions of the Kazaa software to investigate the downloading habits of Kazaa users for use in their own lawsuits. "The industry has lost its way, choosing a path of endless litigation, rather than accepting a solution to copyright infringement that is available now, and a technology that is inexorable," said Sharman CEO Nikki Hemming. In a statement responding to the lawsuit, a Recording Industry Association of America spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that Kazaa's "newfound admiration for the importance of copyright law is ironic to say the least."
http://www.kazaa.com 
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5081071.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-kazaa24sep24.story 
http://www.riaa.com
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o Nintendo Slashes GameCube Price to $99

Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Wednesday that it has slashed the price for its GameCube video game console from $150 to $99, making the third-place console a full $80 cheaper than its rivals, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The company, which recently temporarily halted production of the GameCube while stores clear their shelves of surplus product, expects to have 320 titles for the console available by the end of the year. "We think this represents an opportunity for us to sell a GameCube to someone who bought a [Sony PlayStation 2] three years ago and is looking for something new," Nintendo of America senior vice president George Harrison told CNET News.com. "We believe this is the best value in the history of video games."
http://www.nintendo.com/news/news_articles.jsp?articleID=9014
http://news.com.com/2100-1043-5081411.html
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o DirecTV Pirate First Jury-Decided Convict Under Digital Copyright Act

Los Angeles -- A Florida man has been convicted of criminal violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for selling unauthorized access cards that let viewers pirate satellite TV, in the first case regarding the controversial law to be decided by a federal jury. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles said that 38-year-old Thomas Michael Whitehead was convicted of six felonies, including three DMCA violations, and faces up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $2.75 million.
http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5080807.html 
http://da.co.la.ca.us
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o European Music Companies Wary of Warner Merger Plans

Brussels -- Impala, an organization representing more than 1,800 independent music labels, is already asking the European Commission to impose tough conditions on any future merger between Warner Music and the U.K.'s EMI or Germany's BMG. Impala has warned that either of the merger scenarios would need to make significant concessions in order to win regulatory approval. "We have difficulty imagining any concessions that would be far-reaching enough to deal with the competition issues that would result from a deal," Impala said in a statement. Earlier this week, EMI confirmed that it was holding preliminary talks with Time Warner regarding a possible $1.6-billion bid for its music division.
http://www.impalasite.org
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o Universal Caves to Retailers on CD Price-Lowering Initiative

Washington -- Universal Music Group, which recently shook-up the music industry by announcing it would lower the suggested retail price of its CDs from as high as $18 to $12.98, has responded to criticism of the plan from music retailers by agreeing not to advertise an actual price on the stickers it places on the discs, The Washington Post reported. Universal's JumpSTART price-lowering program is aimed at reviving slumping CD sales with lower prices. Sources at Universal told The Post that its decision to not strictly impose the prices with a $12.98 sticker on CDs came partly because it could not discuss potential objections with retailers until after the announcement, due to antitrust concerns. "While delivering a great value to the consumer is the primary goal behind JumpSTART, we believe that, at this time, the goal can be reached without including the MSRP [manufacturer's suggested retail price] in the sticker we plan to put on our product," reads a Sept. 17 letter from Universal Music and Video Distribution to retailers, obtained by The Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54871-2003Sep23.html
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o Vivendi Universal Narrows Losses, Lowers Debt

Paris -- French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal on Wednesday reported a $724-million loss for the first half of 2003, while net debt plummeted from 35 billion euro ($40 billion) to 13.7 billion euro ($15.7 billion). The company's best-performing entertainment asset was Canal Plus, which posted its first operating profit since its ill-fated purchase of rival NetHold seven years ago. The report is decidedly good news for the company, which posted more than 12.3 billion euro ($14.1 billion) in losses last year. CEO Jean-Rene Fourtou said that talks with General Electric's broadcasting arm NBC were proceeding as planned and that the merger should be completed by the second half of next year.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?T1E643EF5
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o European Parliament OKs Controversial Software-Patent Legislation

Brussels -- Ending months of heated debate, the European Parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial software-patent. The news will be unwelcome for thousands small companies and open-source software advocates who argued that the law would only help software giants, stifling innovation at the same time. Several multinational technology companies -- such as Microsoft, Alcatel, SAP and Nokia -- lobbied hard for the law's approval. Under the new legislation, companies will not be allowed to patent "pure" software, but will be allowed to patent software-hardware combinations, provided that the software performs a technical function. Proponents say that the law will prevent the European Union from granting patents on Internet business models, as they do in the United States.
http://europa.eu.int/news/index_en.htm

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(Littleton, Colo.) Satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications, which distributes the DISH Network service, announced on Wednesday that it has sold its one millionth digital video recorder. The company offers its customers a satellite receiver that doubles as a digital video recorder capable of storing up to 100 hours of programming and can skip commercials in recorded programs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030924/245233_1.html 
http://www.dishnetwork.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft announced on Wednesday its sponsorship of the IFP Market Award for Short Films, presented this week during the IFP/New York Film Market. Five filmmakers were nominated, and were commissioned to each create an "independence-themed" short film. The resulting films were projected digitally at the festival using Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series, and the chosen winner will receive a $5,000 prize.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030924/sfw044_1.html
http://market.ifp.org/market25/index2.html

(New York) Showtime, a cable TV movie channel unit of Viacom, on Wednesday began offering DISH Network satellite TV subscribers the ability to subscribe to its Showtime Unlimited service in an interactive TV ad by using their remote control. The service includes six Showtime channels, two channels of The Movie Channel, The Sundance Channel and Flix for $11.99 per month.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030923/nytu144_1.html
http://www.showtimeonline.com

(London) European wireless carrier Vodafone on Wednesday announced an agreement with U.K. game developer Eidos, to distribute wireless games based on Eidos' "Tomb Raider" franchise in 22 countries. The deal includes three "Tomb Raider" mobile games, as well as ringtones, screensavers and wallpapers based on the game franchise, which since 1996 has sold over 30 million units worldwide.
http://www.eidos.com 
http://www.vodafone.com 
http://www.tombraidermobile.com

(London) U.K.-based game developer Empire Interactive said on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Consumer Products to develop a sequel to the "Starsky & Hutch" video game for all consoles and the PC. Empire did not say whether or not Take-Two Interactive, which distributed the first game based on the 70's TV series, will also handle distribution of the sequel.
http://www.empireinteractive.com
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/sgn/sh

(Redwood City, Calif.) Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts announced on Wednesday the releases of "Medal of Honor Allied Assault" and "Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour" for the PC. The "Medal of Honor" expansion pack was created by EA LA in conjunction with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and developed by Santa Cruz, Calif.-based TKO Software. The "Command & Conquer" expansion pack was developed by EA LA, Electronic Arts' Los Angeles studio.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030924/245510_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030924/245495_1.html 
http://www.tko-software.com 
http://www.moh.ea.com 
http://www.generals.ea.com

(Westlake Village, Calif.) TDK Mediactive, a publisher of video games, announced on Wednesday that "Corvette Racing USA" will be the first title it publishes for Qualcomm's BREW platform for wireless devices. Developed by Sennari Games, the title is expected to become available in late October. Westlake Village, Calif.-based TDK Mediactive was acquired earlier this month by New York-based Take-Two Interactive, whose Rockstar Games division publishes the popular "Grand Theft Auto" games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030924/245178_1.html 
http://www.tdk-mediactive.com

(Beverly, Mass.) Game publisher Atari said on Wednesday that it has shipped its "Once Upon A Knight" PC game title to retailers. The game was developed by Germany-based Reality Pump.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030924/245520_1.html 
http://www.realitypump.com

(Carlsbad, Calif.) Sammy Studios, the U.S. development arm of the Japanese video game company, announced on Wednesday the opening of a new 66,000 square foot headquarters in Carlsbad, California. The facility, which features a state-of-the-art game development studio, will also serve as the company's worldwide publishing headquarters. Sammy said it expects to double the 100-person staff at the location in the next 18 months, and will release its first original game in early 2004.
http://www.sammystudios.com

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