archives

o Massive Software Piracy Ring Busted, Universities Raided
o Sonicblue Will Sue TiVo for Patent Infringement
o House Subcommittee Holding Hearings on Digital Copyrights
o Judge OKs New Contracts Between Excite@Home, Cable Companies
o Briefly Noted: AOL MusicNet - portability?, Walt Disney Internet Group -
SK Telecom, RealNetworks - Compaq, Qualcomm - World Wrestling Federation,
OpenTV - Pace Micro Technology, NDS - Yes TV, IMusica - EMI, Audible.com - Good Guys, Majesco, Xbox hackers
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Staff Writer

> Events/Services: "Third Annual Early Stage Capital Forum," "Digital
Media Wire Directory"

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 Massive Software Piracy Ring Busted, Universities Raided

Washington, D.C. -- A total of 65 computers were seized at a number of
U.S. universities yesterday in part of an international raid that busted a
massive software piracy ring allegedly involving students at the
universities, Internet service providers, and employees and executives at
software companies. The raid targeted a group called "Drink or Die" that
offered copyrighted movies, games and "warez" -- or software sold by
companies like Microsoft and Adobe -- for free. "This is an unprecedented
investigation into copyrighted games, music and videos and expensive
applications software," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Kenneth Dam. The
software industry estimates that $12 billion in sales is lost annually to
piracy. No arrests were made by the U.S. Customs Service, which conducted
the raids. However, 62 persons are now under investigation, most of them
from schools including MIT, Stanford and Purdue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/12/technology/12PIRA.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172885.html
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49026,00.html
_____________________________________________

o Sonicblue Will Sue TiVo for Patent Infringement

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Following an announcement yesterday from Sonicblue
that it was seeking to negotiate a license of its digital video recorder
technology to rival TiVo, the company said on Wednesday that it plans to
file suit in the Northern District Federal Court alleging TiVo is
infringing on patents. The company will seek an injunction to cease
production of TiVo's products and monetary damages from sales of existing
products. After Sonicblue's announcement yesterday, San Jose-based TiVo
announced that the U.S. Patent Office had granted the company two new
patents. The company also stated that it was never involved in licensing
negotiations with Sonicblue. "As the market leader for digital video
recording, we have a strong intellectual patent portfolio that protects
our technology," said Jim Barton, TiVo's Chief Technology Officer. "Our
announcement today of additional patent grants, along with those we've
made throughout the year, reinforces this IP leadership."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011211/sftu122_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com
http://www.tivo.com
_____________________________________________

o House Subcommittee Holding Hearings on Digital Copyrights

Washington, D.C. -- The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the
Internet and Intellectual Property will hold hearings today and Thursday
on issues related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which
were postponed after the events of Sept. 11. The hearings will address a
U.S. Copyright Office report that recommended no changes to the DMCA be
made, and will center on issues including the right of "first sale," which
allows users to resell a work that they first purchased themselves. Those
that testified today included NMPA attorney Carey Ramos, RIAA general
counsel Cary Sherman and U.S. Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters.
Tomorrow, testimony will be heard from Consumer Electronics Association
counsel Gary Klein, Digital Media Association Executive Director Jonathan
Potter and BMI general counsel Marvin Berenson. A live audio feed of
tomorrow's hearing -- scheduled to begin at 10 A.M. EST -- is available
from a link provided below.
http://judaudio5.house.gov/2141b
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/schedule.htm
_____________________________________________

o Judge OKs New Contracts Between Excite@Home, Cable Companies

San Francisco -- A federal judge has approved new contracts between
bankrupt broadband access provider Excite@Home and the cable companies to
which it provides services. Several bondholders opposed the new contracts,
but the judge's ruling today will provide a total of $355 million to
Redwood City-based Excite@Home, allowing the company to keep its services
on as cable companies transition subscribers to their own high-speed
networks. Following the transition, Excite@Home will cease operations on
Feb. 28. Cable TV operator Comcast, which had 792,700 subscribers using
Excite@Home's network, said Wednesday that it started transitioning
customers to its own network today and will complete the process by the
end of February. Comcast subscribers will have access to their @Home email
accounts during the entire process, while also being given a new
@Comcast.com email address.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011211/phtu036_1.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(New York) America Online is exploring options to offer subscribers who
sign up to the MusicNet digital music subscription service through AOL the
ability to port songs they download off of their PCs, according to a
report in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal. Responding to news that rival
service Pressplay will offer users limited capacity to burn music they
download onto CD, AOL spokesman Jim Whitney responded by saying, "CD
burning is only one way to make an online music experience portable and
we're looking at a range of portability options."
http://www.musicnet.com

(North Hollywood, Calif.) Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) announced that
it has partnered with Korea's SK Telecom to offer wireless entertainment
to South Korean cell phone users. Disney will provide content including
ringtones and graphics based on its stable of characters like Mickey
Mouse, and will add features like streaming video as SK Telecom develops
its network. WDIG has similar deals with wireless network operators in
Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
http://psc.disney.go.com/corporate/press/wdig/wdig/2001/2001_1211_wdig.html
http://www.sktelecom.com/eng/main.html

(Seattle) RealNetworks announced on Wednesday that Compaq's Presario
consumer PCs will ship with the company's RealOne as the default media
player. Compaq will also facilitate the sale of subscriptions to
RealNetworks' premium subscription services, including the MusicNet
digital music subscription service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011212/sftu135_1.html

(San Diego) Wireless technology developer Qualcomm said on Wednesday that
it will create a wireless entertainment offering with World Wrestling
Federation Entertainment. The service will let wrestling fans use their
cell phones to access personalized ringtones, instant messaging,
interactive trivia, wrestling news, real-time polls and games. Subscribers
to wireless networks that use Qualcomm's BREW platform to deliver data
will be able to access the service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011212/120069_1.html
http://www.wwfecorpbiz.com

(Mountain View, Calif.) OpenTV, a provider of operating system software
for set-top boxes used to deliver interactive television services,
announced on Wednesday that it has integrated its software into U.K.-based
Pace Micro Technology's Di4000 interactive cable home gateway. Cable TV
companies can use the Di4000 set-top box to offer their subscribers
services including video on demand, high-speed Internet service, and
telephone service (Voice over IP).
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011212/122024_1.html
http://www.pace.co.uk/paceproducts/product.asp?section=CA&product=19
http://www.opentv.com

(London) Israeli cable TV operator DBS Satellite Services, also known as
Yes TV, on Wednesday began offering additional interactive TV services
through an extended agreement with News Corp. subsidiary NDS. NDS's
Value@TV program will offer the half million Yes TV subscribers with the
appropriate set-top boxes access to services including personalized
classified car and property ads developed by Taldor, games and
informational services created by Zoe Interactive, and additional games
from GooMe.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011212/122001_1.html
http://www.nds.com/solutions/value_at_tv.html
http://www.taldor.co.il/CI_group.htm#7
http://www.zoe.co.il
http://www.goome.com

(Rio de Janiero) IMusica, a Brazilian music digital music distributor,
announced that EMI Music will use the company's services to sell downloads
of songs by artists on the EMI Music Brazil label. IMusica's network of
partner sites includes the Brazilian version of MSN, Usina do Som and
Virgula.
http://www.imusica.com.br/

(Wayne, N.J.) Spoken word audio provider Audible.com said on Wednesday
that it is creating in-store promotions at 79 Good Guys electronics
stores. New Jersey-based Audible.com will provide rebates on sales of
Audible-ready digital audio devices as well as a free audiobook when
customers purchase a $12.95 one-month subscription to its content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011212/122062_1.html
http://www.audible.com

(Edison, N.J.) Game publisher Majesco announced that it has named board
member Steve Race as its new CEO. Previously, Race served as president of
Sony Computer Entertainment America. Former CEO Morris Sutton will become
chairman of the company. New Jersey-based Majesco publishes based on
entertainment properties such as the TV show "Star Trek: Voyager" and Tom
Clancy's novel "Rainbow 6," in addition to new versions of classic games
like "Q-Bert" and "Frogger."
http://www.majescosales.com

(San Francisco) CNET featured an article on Wednesday about hackers'
efforts thus far to modify Microsoft's Xbox video game console. One group
-- known as XboxGW -- has already written software that allows users to
take advantage of the online multiplayer capabilities built into the
console, for which Microsoft has not yet created a service. Others are
attempting to break security measures installed by Microsoft to prevent
users from upgrading the storage space and speed of the device, which is
built using mainly off-the-shelf PC parts. Hackers are also interested in
manipulating the Xbox so that it will play games for competing consoles,
as well as audio and video in MPEG-4 format.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-8147450.html?tag=tp_pr
http://www.xboxgw.com/

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

> Staff Writer - Forbes.com - NYC

Forbes.com, the online component of Forbes Magazine, seeks a junior
reporter who has experience covering the business world, and can handle
the daily deadline grind, turning out punchy, opinionated copy on a wide
range of business and financial subjects. Experience on a daily newspaper,
wire service or Web site is a plus, as is experience covering financial
services.
Send cover letter/resume/salary history to Michael Noer: mnoer@forbes.net

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

> Third Annual Early Stage Capital Forum - January 31, 2002

Selection Committee is seeking executive summaries from technology
companies throughout the mid-Atlantic looking to raise $300,000 to
$5,000,000. Companies should submit their plans online. Hosted by DC
Technology Council in Partnership with Netpreneur, NVTC, HTM, GBTC and the
Mid-AtlanticVenture Association. To Submit plans go to:
http://www.dctechcouncil.org or Contact escf@wdctech.net
_____________________

> Digital Media Wire Directory Launched

Digital Media Wire just launched the Digital Media Directory, an online
directory and RFP engine that facilitates the search and negotiation
process between buyers and sellers.

Register as a provider in the Digital Media Directory at
http://digitalmediawire.newmediary.com/dmw111301nl
______________________

To subscribe, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com

Questions or comments? Send email to:
mark@digitalmediawire.com

News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@digitalmediawire.com

Copyright 2001 Digital Media Wire