Archive - Jan 8, 2003

Date

Lawmakers Re-Introduce Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:21am.
Washington -- Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) John Doolittle (R-Ca.), Spencer Bachus (R-AL) and Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) on Tuesday re-introduced the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act, which aims to amend the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with the goal of "protecting the Fair Use rights of the users of copyrighted material and, thereby enabling the consumers of digital media to make use of it in ways that enhance their personal convenience." The legislation is identical to the bill that Boucher and Doolitte introduced last fall. The bill address the ability of consumers to make digital copies of CDs they already own, as well as the anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA, and would also require record labels to post warnings on copy-protected CDs that they will not function in some CD players. "The re-introduced legislation will assure that consumers who purchase digital media can enjoy a broad range of uses of the media for their own convenience in a way which does not infringe the copyright in the work," said Boucher, in a statement.
tags: Digital Media | Lawmakers | Rights Act |

Report: Home Video Revenues for 2002 Top $20.6 Billion; DVD Share Up

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:20am.
Encino, Calif. -- The home video industry enjoyed a record-breaking year with combined rental and sell-through revenues of $20.6 billion for 2002, according to figures released on Wednesday by industry trade group the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA). The DVD format's share of the total rental market increased from 17 percent in 2001 to 35 percent in 2002, accounting for $2.9 billion in rentals -- a 106 percent increase over 2001's $1.4 billion figure. Sales of DVDs accounted for $8 billion, or 65 percent, of total 2002 home video sales of $12.4 billion -- a 51 percent increase from the $5.3 billion in sales revenues enjoyed by DVD in 2001. The report also noted that VHS format market share shrank 18 percentage points -- from 83 percent of rental revenues in 2001 to 65 percent for the year 2002 -- but still remains the dominant format.
tags: Video | Reports | DVD | Revenues |

Interactive TV Firm Liberate Lays Off 180 Amid Accounting Probe

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:19am.
San Carlos -- Liberate Technologies, a provider of interactive TV software and services, announced on Wednesday that it will lay off 30 percent of its staff, or about 180 employees, to cut costs in the midst of an internal accounting investigation. The company said it will cut an additional 60 employees over the next three months. In December, San Carlos, Calif.-based Liberate fired its chief operating officer, and continues its investigation into accounting irregularities that have forced it to delay stating its earnings for 2002 and first quarter 2003. http://www.liberate.com
tags: Interactive TV | Liberate | Lays Off | Accounting Probe |

Canadian Blank CD Levy Increase Coming Under Fire

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:16am.
San Francisco -- Wired News on Wednesday reported on a dispute currently before the Copyright Board of Canada regarding levies placed on recordable media -- such as blank CDs -- that Canadian residents pay as a "royalty" for the ability to make copies of music CDs for personal use. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), which collects the royalties, charged 5.2 cents CDN per blank CD in 2000, but is proposing to raise the levy to 59 cents per CD in 2003. The CPCC has collected $28 million since 1999 and expects to collect $100 million in 2003, but since it started collecting royalties has yet to distribute any monies to musicians or copyright holders. The Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access, a group whose members include H-P, Sony, Wal-Mart Canada, Costco and Staples, has argued against the existence of any levy on recordable media.
tags: CD | Canadian | Under Fire |

Apple to Offer iLife Digital Media Software Bundle

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:16am.
San Francisco -- Apple has introduced a new digital media software bundle, iLife, that features new versions of its iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD, as well as the recently released iTunes 3 application. The $49 software bundle will go on sale online starting Jan. 25. "iLife does for our digital lifestyle what Microsoft Office did for office productivity -- all the applications you need are in one box, and they all work together," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
tags: Apple | Software | Digital Media | iLife |

Wireless Multimedia Developer Comverse To Invest $4 Million In Israel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:13am.
Tel Aviv -- Comverse Technology, a provider of systems and software enabling network-based multimedia enhanced communications services, will invest $4 million to expand its operations at Ramat Hahayal, according to a report in Wednesday's Globes business newspaper. The paper said Comverse plans to hire 300 new workers to produce software and equipment for advanced multimedia services for communications networks. Separately, Comverse announced on Wednesday a deal with Portuguese wireless network operator TMN, to distribute its VoiCD music and entertainment cell phone content to TMN subscribers.
tags: Wireless | Israel | Multimedia | Comverse |

Streaming Media Software Firm Starbak Buys Video Server Firm Vividon

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2003 - 7:13am.
Columbus, Ohio -- Starbak Communications, a provider of streaming media delivery software, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Vividon, a developer of video-on-demand servers and other digital video hardware and software. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal will combine Vividon's technology for delivery high volume streaming media, with Ohio-based Starbak's server-focused products and roster of enterprise market customers.
tags: Video | Software | Starbak | Vividon |