Top Stories
o Justice Dept. Proposes Stricter Penalties for Piracy, Counterfeiting
o Sony BMG Halts Production of "Rootkit" CDs; Microsoft Offers Removal Tool
o AOL to Launch Free Broadband TV Show Reruns Network
o Snocap Licenses Warner Music Songs for Use on Legal File-Sharing Services
o Emmy Award to Recognize TV Content Created for Tiny Screens
o Electronic Arts Discounts Some Titles, Launches PC Game Download Service
o Microsoft to Offer 18 Game Titles for Xbox 360 Launch
o Report: 2009 IPTV Revenue to Hit $44 Billion, from 53.7 Million Subscribers
o Scottish Enterprise to Invest $8.7 Million in Game Development
o Study: Parents Agree With Video Game Ratings
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Briefly Noted
o Virgin Digital Launches Red Pass Music Subscription Service
o Vodafone to Sell Universal Music Videos on Cell Phones
o Japanese Company Offers "Smell Tones"
o XM Satellite Radio to Broadcast Grammy Awards
o Toshiba Introduces New Gigabeat Flash MP3 Players
o Chinese Wireless Firm Hurray Buys Stake in Freeland Music
o BitPass to Provide Micropayments Processing for MSN

o Brickhouse Mobile to Distribute Danni Ashe Adult Content
o Digeo Provides Moxi Media Center Set-tops to Regional Cable Firms
o Activision Extends Marvel Deal to 2017, Ships Xbox 360 Titles
o Volvo Develops Promotional Xbox Video Game
o Hasbro Multimedia Player to Offer Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon Content
o THQ Ships WWE Games for PlayStation 2, Cell Phones
o Midway Games Releases "Earth 2160" PC Title
o Radica Games Offers "Cube World" Interactive Stick People Toys
o SkillJam to Host $1 Million Casual Games Contest
o Jamdat Launches "Doom RPG" Mobile Game in Europe
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Washington - The Bush administration is lobbying Congress to enact stricter penalties for copyright infringement, CNET News.com reported. A proposal being circulated would create the new crime of "attempting to infringe a copyright," as well as empower law enforcement to seize and destroy pirated and counterfeit goods, as well as materials used to produce the goods, and any property obtained through the sale of pirated or counterfeit goods. Offenders would also be compelled to pay compensation to copyright holders for losses, in addition to existing prison time penalties. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told an anti-piracy summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that proceeds from pirated and counterfeit goods are being used, "quite frankly, to fund terrorism activities," News.com reported.
http://tinyurl.com/87lz3 (CNET)
http://static.publicknowledge.org/pdf/20051110-doj-ip-prot-act.pdf (PDF of proposal)
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o Sony BMG Halts Production of "Rootkit" CDs; Microsoft Offers Removal Tool

New York - Major record label Sony BMG has temporarily halted production of music CDs that include a controversial copy-protection tool that allowed hackers to hide malicious software on PCs and spied on which CDs users listened to. ''We stand by content protection technology as an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists," the label said in a note on its website. ''Nonetheless, as a precautionary measure, Sony BMG is temporarily suspending the manufacture of CDs containing XCP technology." The "rootkit" technology in question, developed by U.K.-based First 4 Internet, hides software that prevents users from making unauthorized copies of CDs deep within a PC's operating system, with the unintended effect of enabling virus writers to piggyback their malicious software on the rootkit. Several antivirus firms provided updates that identify or remove the rootkit last week, and now Microsoft has determined that the software is a security risk as well, and will remove the rootkit through an update offered to Windows PC users. Sony has not said whether it will recall CDs containing the rootkit that have already shipped, or provide refunds for those already purchased by consumers. The company also faces a class action lawsuit from consumers with affected computers.
http://blog.sonymusic.com/sonybmg/archives/xcp.html
http://tinyurl.com/cjlra (Boston Globe)
http://tinyurl.com/8jsx2 (CNET)
http://www.first4internet.co.uk
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o AOL to Launch Free Broadband TV Show Reruns Network

Dulles, Va. - Looking to bolster the video offerings on its AOL.com portal, America Online said that it has teamed with corporate cousin Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution to form a new broadband network that will stream full-length, re-run episodes of popular television series. The company said that its free In2TV service, scheduled to launch early next year, will allow users to view complete episodes of series such as "Welcome Back Kotter," "Growing Pains," "La Femme Nikita" and "Lois & Clark." The service, organized into six genre-themed channels, also will feature games, quizzes, polls and trivia contests. The programs will be available through AOL's new high-quality video format, which the company said can deliver DVD-quality videos, in addition to standard quality streaming video, to broadband users. AOL will make money by selling 15- and 30-second video ads as well as accompanying banner ads.
http://tinyurl.com/8f8k6
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o Snocap Licenses Warner Music Songs for Use on Legal File-Sharing Services

San Francisco - Snocap, a provider of digital music copyright management and distribution services, announced on Monday that it now has agreements with all four major record labels, with the signing of a licensing deal with Warner Music Group. With the signing of Warner, San Francisco-based Snocap is expected to soon begin offering digital songs for download on new, legal peer-to-peer file-sharing services such as Mashboxx. Snocap employs "audio fingerprinting" filtering technology that only allows the purchase and download of legally authorized songs on file-sharing networks. "We believe in the power of peer-to-peer technology and we're glad to see it join our arsenal of other digital platforms that, going forward, will enable Warner Music Group to continue to grow opportunities for artists to reach music fans in multiple ways," said Alex Zubillaga, WMG's executive vice president for digital strategy and business development.
http://tinyurl.com/dqgek
http://www.wmg.com
http://www.snocap.com
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o Emmy Award to Recognize TV Content Created for Tiny Screens

New York - The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences plans to introduce a new category for its Daytime Emmy Awards, for content created specifically for the tiny screens found on cell phones, iPods, PSPs and computer media player software, The New York Times reported. The Academy will initially offer the award as part of its Sports Emmy Awards, to be held on May 1, 2006, but plans to expand to other categories including news and documentary, business and financial reporting, and daytime television. Entries will not be accepted from TV shows that have been repurposed for small screens. "We are not going to reward 'Lost' or 'Desperate Housewives'," Av Westin, a member of the awards committee, told The Times, referring to the recent offering of episodes of both ABC series through Apple's iTunes Store. The award will be reserved for original content such as "video blogs, web programs, event coverage, mobile phone serials and other video-on-demand content."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/technology/11emmy.html
http://www.emmyonline.org
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o Electronic Arts Discounts Some Titles, Launches PC Game Download Service

Los Angeles - Video game publisher Electronic Arts has cut prices on some of its titles by 20%, in an effort to "spur sales and thwart competition," Reuters reported, citing an analyst with Banc of America Securities. Titles now selling for $39, as opposed to $49, include "NBA Live 06," "Burnout Revenge," "NASCAR 06," "Marvel Nemesis" and "SSX On Tour"; EA is expected to discount additional titles following the Thanksgiving weekend. Separately, Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts on Monday announced the launch of an online digital distribution service that will offer full games, demos, trailers and updates for its PC titles. The first offering from the digital download service will be "Battlefield 2: Special Forces," which consumers can now pre-order and download to their PCs. The title will then be unlocked for play when it is officially released on Nov. 22.
http://tinyurl.com/8rknb (Reuters)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051114/20051114006035.html?.v=1
http://www.battlefield.ea.com
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o Microsoft to Offer 18 Game Titles for Xbox 360 Launch

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Monday that it will offer a roster of 18 new game titles when it launches its Xbox 360 video game console on Nov. 22. Games available for $49 will include "Project Gotham Racing 3," "Peter Jackson's King Kong," "Quake 4," "Madden NFL 06," "NBA 2K6," "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland" and "Kameo: Elements of Power." The company additionally said that it will offer 15 game titles through its Xbox Live Arcade online gaming service, including multiplayer versions of games like "Joust" and "Gauntlet." Microsoft will sell a 12-month access package for Xbox Live that includes a headset and one game for $69, or a 3-month access package for $39.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/sfm080.html?.v=31
http://www.xbox.com
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o Report: 2009 IPTV Revenue to Hit $44 Billion, from 53.7 Million Subscribers

Campbell, Calif. - Revenue for providers of Internet TV service (IPTV) will reach $44 billion in 2009, when worldwide IPTV subscribers will number 53.7 million, according to a report from Infonetics Research. DSL providers are expected to account for the bulk of service revenue in the short term, while cable broadband providers are also expected to offer bundled services over Internet Protocol. Service providers, who invested $304 million in IPTV-related services infrastructure in 2004, are expected to increase spending to $4.5 billion in 2009. The number of U.S. IPTV subscribers is projected to increase by nearly 13,000% between 2004 and 2009. "We expect SBC, Verizon, BT, and other large providers to successfully conquer the technical and marketing hurdles before them, and when they do, their IPTV subscriber figures will increase substantially year-over-year," said Infonetics Research analyst Jeff Heynen.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/sfm105.html?.v=24
http://www.infonetics.com
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o Scottish Enterprise to Invest $8.7 Million in Game Development

Glasgow - Scottish Enterprise announced that it plans to build on the region's expertise in online software development with an $8.7 million investment program for software games technology. The investment will come through the government-funded ITI Techmedia organization. "Scotland has a good track record in game development, and this is a prime example of an area … where the ITI can act as a catalyst to leverage the skills found in Scotland to create a global solution," said ITI Techmedia CEO David Creed. "ITI will create a platform and a selection of cutting-edge tools for the benefit of the global game development community."
http://www.ititechmedia.com/news.asp
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o Study: Parents Agree With Video Game Ratings

New York - Parents shown video footage samples of video games agreed with the industry's voluntary ratings for the games 82% of the time, while another 5% of the time they regarded the ratings as "too strict," according to a survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the industry's Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which assigns game ratings. The survey of 400 parents, culled from shopping malls in 10 U.S. cities, showed each parent footage from 8 of 80 randomly selected computer and video games that were assigned ESRB ratings within the past year. "This is a definitive assessment of agreement with the ESRB ratings because it considers the views of those who actually interact with the ratings the most, namely parents of children that play video games," said Jay Campbell, of Peter D. Hart Research Associates. "It is especially impressive that parents' level of agreement with the ratings is as broad as it is deep; parents of children of all ages agree that game ratings are accurate."
http://tinyurl.com/85ywb
http://www.esrb.org

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o Virgin Digital Launches Red Pass Music Subscription Service

London - Virgin Group on Monday launched a new version of its digital music subscription service, that gives users unlimited access to its library of 2 million tracks for streaming and downloading for $7.99 per month. The Virgin Digital Red Pass includes access to 60 pre-programmed radio online radio stations, in addition the ability to burn tracks to CD and transfer them to Windows Media portable players, excluding the iPod. Another feature enables subscribers whose subscriptions have lapsed to rejoin and restore access to all of the music from their expired account.
http://tinyurl.com/aa27s (Reuters)
http://www.virgindigital.com
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o Vodafone to Sell Universal Music Videos on Cell Phones
 
London - U.K.-based Vodafone, the largest mobile carrier in the world, announced that it has partnered with Universal Music Group to allow 3G customers to download thousands of music videos and songs to their mobile phones. Vodafone said that more than 100,000 tracks would be available within a "matter of weeks". Ringtones and music streams will also be available, Vodafone said. No details were released as to the price of the new service.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A2DF2672C
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o Japanese Company Offers "Smell Tones"

Tokyo - A Japanese company called Keitai KunKun has developed "smell tones," or scents contained in a cell phone accessory that emit a particular odor when a phone rings. The $17 accessories currently come in Hello Kitty, Disney, Doraemon and Mourning Musume scent varieties.
http://tinyurl.com/8jte3 (Gizmodo)
http://www.pixen.co.jp/product/archives_e/2005/09/keitai_kunkun.html
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o XM Satellite Radio to Broadcast Grammy Awards

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of subscription radio programming with 5 million subscribers, said on Monday that it has signed a multi-year agreement with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to provide broadcast coverage of the Grammy Awards. In addition to broadcast coverage, XM will create a monthly show that will feature Grammy-winning artists, and also cover the Academy's charitable efforts.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/dcm026.html?.v=33
http://www.grammy.com
http://www.xmradio.com
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o Toshiba Introduces New Gigabeat Flash MP3 Players

Wayne, N.J. - Japanese consumer electronics firm Toshiba on Monday introduced a new line of its Gigabeat flash memory-based digital music players. A $129, 512MB model features a multi-colored pallet design, while a $179, 1GB model comes in metallic black. Both players will go on sale in January 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/9r5hv
http://www.giga-style.com
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o Chinese Wireless Firm Hurray Buys Stake in Freeland Music

Beijing - Hurray Holding Co., a Chinese wireless entertainment publisher, announced on Monday that it has paid $7.56 million to acquire a 60% stake in Freeland Music, a Chinese producer and distributor of recorded music. Hurray will distribute Freeland's music -- which includes top-selling artists Xiangxiang, Yang Chengang and Yang Yi -- via wireless and Internet platforms, while Freeland will continue physical distribution.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/cnm019.html?.v=1
http://www.hurray.com/english
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o BitPass to Provide Micropayments Processing for MSN

Menlo Park, Calif. - BitPass, a provider of online micropayments processing services, announced on Monday that it has partnered with Microsoft to offer co-branded payment services and a marketplace to MSN consumers. The BitPass service will allow MSN portals to sell games, music and mobile content offered by Microsoft, MSN and third parties. The first site to utilize Menlo Park, Calif.-based BitPass' platform will launch this week on Microsoft's ninemsn portal in Australia.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/sfm050.html?.v=31
http://www.bitpass.com
http://flutterbuys.ninemsn.com.au
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o Brickhouse Mobile to Distribute Danni Ashe Adult Content

Denver, Colo. - Brickhouse Mobile, a distributor of adult-themed wireless entertainment content, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Danni's Hard Drive, to launch Danni Mobile. The service will offer images of Danni Ashe -- "the most-downloaded woman of all time" -- in addition to original mobisodes, virtual lap dances, and model interviews and chats.
http://www.danni.com
http://www.brickhousemobile.com
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o Digeo Provides Moxi Media Center Set-tops to Regional Cable Firms

Kirkland, Wash. - Digeo, the developer of the Moxi Media Center video-on-demand set-top box and service, announced on Monday that regional cable TV operators Service Electric Cablevision and Eagle Communications have begun deploying its service with their subscribers. Kirkland, Wash.-based Digeo said the Moxi Media Center has now been deployed in some 225,000 North American homes.
http://tinyurl.com/9asmk
http://www.digeo.com
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o Activision Extends Marvel Deal to 2017, Ships Xbox 360 Titles

Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision announced on Monday that it has expanded its agreement with comic publisher Marvel Entertainment, extending its rights to develop games based on Marvel's "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" franchises through 2017. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Activision's Marvel games have to date sold a combined more than 25 million units. Separately, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision said it is shipping its line-up of Xbox 360 launch titles to retailers in anticipation of the game console's launch on Nov. 22. The company said it will begin selling "Call of Duty 2," "GUN" and "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland" on Tuesday.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/nym106.html?.v=22
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051111/20051111005500.html?.v=1
http://www.marvel.com
http://www.activision.com
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o Volvo Develops Promotional Xbox Video Game

Irvine, Calif. - Swedish automaker Volvo announced on Monday that it commissioned the development of an Xbox video game title to promote its vehicle line. In addition to a racing segment featuring Volvo vehicles, the game also includes videos related to the cars' safety features. The company partnered with Euro RSCG 4D and Kirt Gunn & Associates on the game's concept; the title was developed by Climax Action, published by Microsoft, and will be available at Volvo retailers nationwide.
http://tinyurl.com/bz7yk
http://www.climaxgroup.com
http://www.volvocars.us
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o Hasbro Multimedia Player to Offer Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon Content

Pawtucket, R.I. - Toymaker Hasbro's Tiger Electronics unit announced on Monday that it has signed license agreements with Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, to feature content from the networks' animated TV series on its new portable video player for the "tween" market, the VUGO Multimedia System. The $119 device, available this fall, will feature a 3-inch color screen and 128MB of memory to store TV shows, music and photos. Content available through the licensing deals will include episodes of "Dexter's Laboratory," "Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Danny Phantom" and "Jimmy Neutron."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051114/20051114005742.html?.v=1
http://www.vugo.com 
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o THQ Ships WWE Games for PlayStation 2, Cell Phones

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ on Monday shipped its "WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006" title for PlayStation 2. Developed by Japan's Yuke's Co., the title is a sequel to last year's 2 million unit-selling game. A version for Sony PSP is slated to ship in December. THQ also said it plans to launch two WWE-themed mobile games, "WWE RAW" and "WWE SmackDown," on major U.S. and European wireless carriers this fall.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/lam110.html?.v=25
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051114/lam054a.html?.v=1
http://www.wwe.com
http://www.thq.com
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o Midway Games Releases "Earth 2160" PC Title

Chicago - Midway Games on Monday shipped its "Earth 2160" real-time strategy PC game to retailers. The title was developed by Poland-based Reality Pump Games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051114/20051114005193.html?.v=1
http://www.realitypump.pl
http://earth2160.midway.com
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o Radica Games Offers "Cube World" Interactive Stick People Toys

Hong Kong - Toymaker Radica Games announced on Monday the release of its "Cube World" electronic games. The $30, cube-shaped devices each house a virtual "stick person" which, when connected with other cubes, can interact and play games with the virtual stick people housed in other cubes.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051114/20051114005366.html?.v=1
http://www.radicagames.com
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o SkillJam to Host $1 Million Casual Games Contest

Los Angeles - Casual game publisher SkillJam Technologies announced on Monday plans to host a $1 million Skill Games World Championship. Qualifiers on SkillJam.com and partner sites including AOL Games, GSN, MSN Games, RealNetworks and Virgin Games -- a network of 9 million registered users -- will be flown to Los Angeles for the finals in 2006. Titles in the skill games tournament will include "Bejeweled 2," "Solitaire" and "Zuma."
http://tinyurl.com/c78s2
http://www.skilljam.com
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o Jamdat Launches "Doom RPG" Mobile Game in Europe

Los Angeles - Wireless entertainment publisher Jamdat Mobile on Monday announced the launch of its "Doom RPG" mobile version of id Software's popular PC game for U.K. mobile subscribers. The game has launched O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone in the U.K.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051114/20051114005350.html?.v=1
http://www.jamdat.com

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