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RIAA Sues Students Operating Campus File-Sharing Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2003 - 3:13am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against four college students allegedly operating private file-sharing services on their school's computer networks, saying the students were offering a combined 2.5 million songs for download. The suits target two students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and one student each at Michigan Technological University and Princeton University, whom the RIAA said used software like Flatlan, Phynd or Direct Connect to create local area networks for file-sharing, or as the RIAA dubbed them, "local area Napster networks." The RIAA is seeking the maximum penalty, or $150,000 per each infringed recording. "This is a particularly flagrant way to illegally distribute millions of copyrighted works over the Internet," said RIAA president Cary Sherman. "The people who run these Napster networks know full well what they are doing -- operating a sophisticated network designed to enable widespread music thievery."
tags: RIAA | File-Sharing | Students |

Nintendo Sees Strong Sales of New Game Boy, "Zelda," "Pokemon" Titles

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2003 - 3:12am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Friday that it has shipped over 800,000 of its new Game Boy Advance SP handheld game devices to North American retailers, and that its "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" title for GameCube, which sold 600,000 copies through pre-orders, will likely soon sell through its initial shipment of 1.1 million units. The company said that since it began taking pre-orders for the new Zelda title, which launched on March 24, GameCube console sales experienced a 20 percent increase. Additionally, Nintendo said that it shipped 2.2 million units of its "Pokemon Ruby" and "Pokemon Sapphire" Game Boy Advance titles in North America; the Pokemon games have already sold over 4 million units in Japan.
tags: Nintendo | Pokemon | Zelda |

Gaming Equipment Firm Shuffle Master Acquiring Assets of Sega Gaming Unit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2003 - 3:11am.
Las Vegas -- Shuffle Master, a provider of electronic gaming equipment to the casino industry, said on Friday it will acquire certain assets owned by Sega Gaming Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese video game maker Sega. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Under the deal, Las Vegas-based Shuffle Master would be granted licenses to Sega Gaming titles including "Royal Ascot," "Royal Derby," "Sega Blackjack," "Bingo Party" and "Roulette Club." Financially struggling Sega last month announced a plan to merge with Japanese pinball game manufacturer Sammy.
tags: Games | Sega | Assets | Shuffle Master |

Video Delivery Firm Path 1 Networks Gets $1 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2003 - 3:09am.
San Diego -- Path 1 Network Technologies, a provider of delivery technology for broadcast quality video over packet-based IP networks, announced on Friday that it has completed a $1 million fixed-price financing. Two undisclosed parties participated in the deal, which may be expanded to $1.5 million under certain conditions. San Diego-based Path 1's technology supports services like video-on-demand and is targeted to carrier, broadcast, networking and entertainment companies as well as enterprise and government markets. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030404/laf013_1.html
tags: Video | Path 1 | IP networks |

Online Learning Firm K12 Raises $20 Million in Second Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 4, 2003 - 3:09am.
McLean, Va. -- K12, a provider of technology-oriented educational services, said on Thursday that it has raised $20 million in its second round of funding, led by Constellation Ventures. The company, which was co-founded in 1999 by Bill Bennett, the former U.S. Secretary of Education, said that it will use the funding to expand and improve its curriculum, as well as to make its content available to more students in schools across the nation. K12 provides its academic program to many "virtual" on-line schools and programs.
tags: Internet | VC | Second Round | K12 |