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Major Record Labels Sue Napster Investor Hummer Winblad

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:24am.
Los Angeles -- Two of the world's five major record labels have sued Hummer Winblad, a venture capital firm that invested in defunct file-sharing service Napster, alleging the firm through its investment "knowingly facilitated infringement of plaintiff's copyrights for its direct financial benefit." The suit was filed by Universal Music Group and EMI Recorded Music, both of which were also party to the suits that eventually resulted in Napster's shutdown. Hummer Winblad was an early Napster investor, sinking around $13 million into the company and inserting partner Hank Barry as the company's interim CEO. "Businesses (as well as those individuals or entities who control them) premised on massive copyright infringement of works created by artists, should face the legal consequences for their actions," the two record label plaintiffs said, in a statement. Hummer Winblad isn't the only Napster investor to be targeted with a copyright infringement lawsuit. Bertelsmann, which itself owns the BMG Entertainment major record label, was sued by a group of music publishers over its investment in Napster, which it intended to turn into a secure file-sharing service.
tags: Napster | Record Labels | Winblad |

Justice Department Sides with RIAA in Battle with Verizon

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:22am.
Washington, DC -- The Department of Justice has sided with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its dispute with Verizon Communications over whether Verizon must disclose the identity of a customer who is an alleged copyright infringer. In a brief filed in the U.S. District Court in DC, the Justice Department argued that the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which requires Internet service providers to turn over information about subscribers who are alleged to be copyright infringers, does not violate the Constitution. Verizon, however, argues that the law violates consumers' rights to privacy and due process. The district court ruled in favor of the RIAA in January, and Verizon appealed the decision
tags: Verizon | RIAA | Battle | Justice |

Microsoft Reports 50,000 Xbox Live Europe Sign-Ups In First Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:22am.
London -- Microsoft says that it has signed up 50,000 users for its Xbox Live online game service in Europe since its launch one month ago, U.K. news site TheRegister reported. The service, which is also available in the U.S. and Japan, allows owners of its Xbox video game console to connect to the Internet and engage in multiplayer gaming and download exclusive game content. Microsoft also announced a slate of nine new titles that will launch on Xbox Live Europe in the next two months, which include Activision's "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" and Rockstar Games' "Midnight Club 2."
tags: Europe | Reports | Xbox | Microsoft | First Month |

Penn State University Cuts Students' 'Net Access Over Music Downloading

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:20am.
State College, Pa. -- Penn State University has suspended the Internet access of 220 students who were found to be using the school's computer network to trade copyrighted music and movie files. The university told Reuters it received a "complaint" from an unnamed source notifying it that the students were using computers in residence halls to download music. Penn State said that the students' Internet privileges would be returned once they showed they had removed the files from their computers. Earlier this month, Penn State's executive vice president and provost Rodney Erickson sent an email to 110,000 students and faculty at the university, warning them of the penalties for copyright infringement on the campus network. The move by Penn State comes shortly after the Recording Industry Association of America filed lawsuits against four students at various institutions for copyright infringement on campus networks.
tags: Downloads | Musics | Students | Penn | University | Net Access |

Viacom Agrees to Buy AOL Time Warner's Comedy Central Unit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:19am.
New York, NY -- Viacom Inc. on Tuesday agreed to buy AOL Time Warner's 50 percent stake in Comedy Central for about $1.23 billion in cash, giving it full control of the cable network. Larry Divney will remain president of Comedy Central, and the network will continue to be based in New York and Los Angeles, said Viacom, which owns media properties such as CBS, Paramount Pictures and cable networks MTV and VH1. The agreement comes as AOL Time Warner, the parent of Dulles-based America Online, tries to pare down its $29 billion debt.
tags: Comedy | AOL | Viacom | Time Warner |

Report: Video Game Market Poised to Reach $30 Billion by 2007

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:18am.
San Diego, Calif. -- The worldwide market for video games, computer games and interactive entertainment hardware and software is expected to grow from $20.7 billion in 2002 to as much as $30 billion by 2007, according to a report from San Diego-based game industry market research firm DFC Intelligence. The firm predicts that Sony will maintain its market leadership position through this date. "PlayStation 2 could eventually have sales of over 100 million hardware units, thus the PlayStation 3 has to be a favorite to continue Sony's market leadership position," said DFC Intelligence president David Cole. However, DFC also expects that as much as 50 percent of PlayStation 2 owners will eventually also purchase an Xbox or GameCube console.
tags: VC | Reports | Video Game | Poised |

Sensor Input Technology Developer MultiDigit Gets Undisclosed Investment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:16am.
Palo Alto, Calif. -- MultiDigit, a developer of sensor input technology for devices such as cell phones, handheld computers and video games, said on Tuesday that Gary Hutchinson, the CEO of Precision Dynamics Association, has made an undisclosed investment in the company and joined its board. MultiDigit's technology attempts to simplify the way people use electronic devices by allowing them to use 10 fingers to communicate 10 different inputs into a single button. It can be used in conjunction with interfaces such as buttons, touchscreens and trackpads. MultiDigit was founded in May of 2001 with seed funding from Fast Angels Ventures. http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpQs:qbKbytuZmdK
tags: Investment | Sensor | MultiDigit | Undisclosed |

Study: Broadband Use Increases, but Speeds Vary

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:14am.
San Bruno, Calif. -- While consumers are increasingly willing to pay for faster Internet connections, there is little consistency in the actual network speed delivered by cable modem and DSL providers, according to a new study by comScore, a provider of Internet measurement services. According to the data, the number of home broadband users increased 9 percent over the past six months, while dial-up users decreased by 2 percent. In March, 28 percent of all home Internet users accessed the web through a broadband connection. ComScore, however, also found that throughput speed varies greatly by the type of broadband connection. In fact, contrary to a widely held belief, the average cable modem connection was more than 50 percent faster than the average DSL connection. Among cable providers, Cablevision Systems and Comcast rated the fastest, while ATT WorldNet was far faster than most of its DSL competitors.
tags: Broadband | Study | Increases | Speeds Vary |

Corporate Webcasting Firm Interactive Video Technologies Gets $8 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 23, 2003 - 10:14am.
New York -- Interactive Video Technologies (IVT), a provider of corporate webcasting services, announced that it has raised $8 million in its latest round of venture capital financing, provided by Cisco Systems and Tudor Ventures. New York-based IVT provides customers including Charles Schwab, Sun Microsystems, British Telecom and Intel with technology used to build, deploy, manage and measure live and on-demand webcast presentations to increase employee productivity and improve communication with their employees, customers, partners and vendors. The company will use the financing to accelerate growth and for product development, sales and marketing efforts. http://www.ivtweb.com http://www.ivtweb.com/pdfs/IVT%20Press%20Release_4-22-03.pdf
tags: Video | Interactive | Corporate |