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Studios Sue Actor Who Allegedly Leaked "Screener" Movies Onto Internet

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:19am.
Los Angeles -- Two Hollywood film studios have filed copyright infringement claims against veteran actor Carmine Caridi ("The Godfather: Part II"), an Academy Awards voter who allegedly allowed copies of "screener" movies sent to him to be leaked onto the Internet, the Associated Press reported. Warner Bros. is seeking a minimum of $150,000 in damages for each of its two films that were leaked online, "The Last Samurai" and "Mystic River," while Columbia Pictures is asking for similar sums for infringement of its films "Something's Gotta Give" and "Big Fish." Caridi, 70, told law enforcement he sent the films to a friend and purported film buff, Russell Sprague, who was indicted last week on criminal copyright infringement charges for allegedly posting the films online. Caridi has not been charged in the incident, which highlights the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) growing problem with Internet piracy. The group tried last year to ban distribution of such screeners -- sent to those who vote on film awards like the Oscars -- but the ban was later struck down by a federal judge.
tags: Internet | Movies | Studios | Actor | Screener |

Survey: 75% of Americans Think Downloading Songs for Personal Use OK

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:18am.
Rochester, N.Y. -- In a recent survey on peer-to-peer music services, three in four adult Americans (75%) agreed that, while "downloading and then selling the music is piracy and should be prohibited, downloading for personal use is an innocent act and should not be prohibited." The September 2003 survey, conducted by New York-based Harris Interactive, gels with an October survey of teenagers, who said that downloading music files without paying (74%) and letting others download files from them (78%) should be legal. However, two-thirds of adults surveyed (64%) also said they believe "musicians and recording companies should get the full financial benefit of their work." Additionally, 70% of adults agreed that, "if the price of CDs was a lot lower, there would be a lot less downloading of music off the Internet." "All of this suggests that the music industry is fighting an uphill battle in winning the hearts and minds of Americans to support prohibitions against downloading," said Harris Interactive's Robert Leitman. "Their opportunity is to make the as yet unmade link in the public’s consciousness between downloading and its financial impact on musicians and recording companies."
tags: Downloads | Survey | Americans | Musics | Personal Use |

P2P Group Tells Congress It Can't Filter Copyrighted Files

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:16am.
Washington -- A lobbying group called P2P United -- made up of file-sharing services Grokster, Morpheus, BearShare, eDonkey 2000 and Blubster -- wrote in a letter to Congress that it is not technologically feasible for them to filter out copyrighted works traded on their decentralized networks, CNET News.com reported. The letter comes in response to Sen. Lindsay Graham's (R-N.C.) inquiry to the group, which asked them to create filters to block copyrighted material and pornography. In its letter, P2P United says that members of Congress "have been deliberately misinformed by self-interested industry about the technological capability of peer-to-peer services," said P2P United executive director Adam Eisgrau. "It is not that we won't filter out copyrighted material and inappropriate sexual material. It's that we can't." The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has countered that firms including Audible Magic have created technology capable of filtering copyrighted works.
tags: P2P | Congress | Filter | Copyrighted Files |

Report: Cell Phone Video Delivery to Generate $4.7 Billion by 2008

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:15am.
London -- Over 150 million users worldwide will be wirelessly accessing video clips by 2008, generating revenues of $4.7 billion, predicts Massachusetts-based research firm Strategy Analytics. The firm notes that operators are now offering video content over relatively low-speed networks, enabled by firms including Thin Multimedia, HelloNetworks and Oplayo. "Early results have shown video entertainment to be a popular service, although many question marks remain about the viability of video services, including whether mobile phone users will pay for them," said Strategy Analytics senior analyst Philip Taylor. "2004 will see carriers continue to look for ways in which the addressable market for services can be built quickly, and with minimum cost to themselves or their customers."
tags: Video | Reports | Cell Phone |

Google Sued Over Trademarks in Keyword Search Advertisements

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:13am.
San Francisco -- Search engine giant Google and partners AOL and Netscape have been sued by a seller of blinds and wallpaper that claims the companies are infringing on its trademarks with their keyword-targeted advertising, News.com reported. The company, American Blind and Wallpaper Factory, alleges that Google has infringed its trademarks by selling ads to companies wanting to be listed next to terms such as "American wallpaper" and "American blind." While Google said it would not sell ads for "American Blind and Wallpaper Factory," it would not protect the more vague descriptors. "We spend millions of dollars annually to build brand awareness and cannot stand idle while Google allows our competitors to ride our coattails," said American Blind CEO Steve Katzman. For its part, Google in November asked a federal court to declare its keyword ads legal; American Blind's suit seeks dismissal of this claim.
tags: Google | Trademarks | Search Advertisements |

XM Satellite Radio to Offer Ad-Free Programming

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2004 - 2:12am.
Washington, D.C. -- Trying to gain a further leg up on chief rival Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio said that it is eliminating advertising from its music channels -- until now, one of the key differentiators for Sirius. "We were already dominating this market. This will take us one step further," Chance Patterson, a spokesman for XM, told the Associated Press. "This will put even more pressure on Sirius." XM, which has about 1.4 million subscribers compared to Sirius' 261,000, plans to go ad-free starting on Sunday. "It's not a race," said Jim Collins, a spokesman for Sirius. "It really doesn't matter who has higher subscriber numbers."
tags: Satellite Radio | XM | Ad-Free | Programs |