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Time Warner to Pay $510 Million to Settle Federal AOL Charges

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:33am.
Dulles, Va. -- Media giant Time Warner will likely pay more than $500 million to settle charges that its America Online unit fraudulently inflated its revenue figures, the company said on Wednesday. Time Warner has agreed to pay $210 million to the Justice Department and has proposed paying another $300 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, though the latter deal still must be approved by the SEC Commissioners. Also under the deal with the Justice Department, AOL has accepted responsibility for the conduct of its employees that were allegedly involved and agreed to cooperate fully in their investigation. The Justice Department complaint involved AOL's business dealings with a now defunct software company called PurchasePro.com. Through questionable deals, AOL was able to report approximately $20 million of additional revenue from PurchasePro in the fourth quarter of 2000 and $15 million more in the first quarter of 2001, the complaint said. The SEC investigation has focused primarily on $400 million in advertising revenues that AOL derived in 2001 and 2002 through deals with German media giant Bertelsmann. Time Warner had previously set aside $500 million to cover the possible penalties.
tags: Deals | Time Warner | Federal AOL Charges |

FCC Approves In-Flight Wi-Fi, Will Examine Lifting Airplane Cell Phone Ban

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:31am.
Washington -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Wednesday that it has voted unanimously to allow airlines to offer in-flight wireless high-speed Internet access. The agency will also examine current rules with an eye towards eliminating the ban on in-flight cell phone use. While the FCC said that in-flight wireless Internet access could launch in the U.S. as soon as 2006, German airline Lufthansa began offering broadband Internet on some flights in May through a deal with Boeing's Connexion service. The FCC is seeking public comment with regard to lifting the in-flight cell phone use ban, and will collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on ensuring that calls do not disrupt a plane's electrical systems or cell phone use on the ground. It's unclear what steps airlines will take to ensure etiquette is observed by cell phone users in the cramped quarters of an airplane.
tags: Mobile | FCC | In-Flight Wi-Fi | Airplane Cell Phone Ban |

Judge: Google Keyword Ads Do Not Infringe Geico's Trademarks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:30am.
Alexandria, Va. -- A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that search engine giant Google did not violate car insurance vendor Geico's trademarks when it displayed ads for rival insurance providers when users search for "Geico" on Google. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia did not agree with Geico's assertion that the practice diluted its trademarks and caused confusion among consumers. "It confirms that our policy complies with the law, particularly the use of trademarks as keywords," said Google general counsel David Drummond. "This is a clear signal to other litigants that our keyword policy is lawful." At least one other pending lawsuit makes similar claims that Google's lucrative keyword advertising service has infringed on its trademarks.
tags: Google | Judge | Geico | Trademarks |

Police in Finland Raid BitTorrent File-Sharing Server Operation, Arrest 34

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:27am.
London -- Finnish police have conducted raids on volunteers operating servers for the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing service, arresting 34 people in the process, The Register reported. The arrests come a day after the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced it would begin suing such server operators, who enable trading of files by BitTorrent users. The Finnish BitTorrent site reportedly stored 6,000 "torrents," or tracking files that enable P2P downloads, and had about 10,000 Finnish users. If convicted, those arrested would face up to two years in jail, in addition to copyright infringement damage claims from the MPAA and others.
tags: Finland | Raid | Police | File-Sharing Server Operation | Arrest |

Nintendo to Release Music, Video Playback Adapter for DS in Japan

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:24am.
Tokyo -- Nintendo on Wednesday announced plans to release an adapter for its new DS handheld game console in Japan that will allow video and music to be played on the device. The memory card device will enable playback of MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio on the DS, as well as Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP. "Someone could record a TV program on a memory card and then watch it the next day on their way to work on the train," Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa told Reuters. The company will begin selling the $47 memory card in Japan in February, but currently has no plans to release it in the U.S. or Europe. Sony's upcoming PSP handheld has embedded technology enabling playback of music and video, and game publisher Majesco currently sells devices for Nintendo's legacy Game Boy that enable video playback.
tags: Music | Nintendo | DS | Japan | Video Playback Adapter |

Melodeo to Distribute Full-Length Warner Songs to Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:22am.
Seattle -- Melodeo, a developer of a mobile music delivery services, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a global agreement with Warner Music Group to provide secure full-track music downloads to cell phones. The Seattle-based company said that select U.S. wireless carriers will begin implementing its service in 2005, while European wireless carrier Telefonica will today begin offering wireless music downloads through Melodeo to its subscribers in Spain and Portugal. Current cell phones carry an average of 64MB of memory, enough to store roughly 74 to 125 compressed music tracks.
tags: Music | Melodeo | Mobiles | Full-Length Warner Songs |

Report: Nearly Half of Online Europeans Have Broadband

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:20am.
London -- Nearly half of European online households now access the Internet via a high-speed connection, with broadband penetration in the region expected to rise above 50% by 2008, when 88.4 million households will have broadband. A total of 38 million European households will have broadband by the end of 2004, a 61% increase over 2003. The Netherlands, with 45% broadband penetration, leads the European market, while by contrast nations including Germany, Ireland and Greece still have broadband penetration rates under 20%. The majority of European broadband users continue to choose DSL services, which have an 81% share of the market, compared to cable Internet's 19%.
tags: Broadband | Reports | Online Europeans |

Nielsen, Massive Inc. Partner on Video Game Ad Measurement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:17am.
New York -- Audience ratings provider Nielsen Interactive Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Massive Incorporated, a video game advertising network, to provide household measurement reports on game advertising. Earlier this year, New York-based Massive launched its video game advertising network, which allows advertisers to purchase in-game ads across a range of publishers' titles participating in the network. "Video games have become a major component of our media environment, every bit as vital as television," said Massive CEO Mitch Davis. "Today, Massive and Nielsen are drawing another connection line between videogame advertising and effectiveness, creating more tools for brand marketers by providing real audience measurement in this growing and critical new advertising medium." Nielsen and Massive will jointly develop the service during a beta period over the next several months, and expect to release their first video game advertising report in the second quarter of 2005.
tags: Deals | Nielsen | Massive Inc. | Video Game Ad Measurement |

"Janet Jackson" Top Search Term on Lycos During 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 15, 2004 - 11:13am.
Waltham, Mass. -- "Janet Jackson," "Paris Hilton," "Nick Berg" and "Kazaa" were among the top search terms listed on Web portal Lycos during 2004, according to the company's annual list of top 50 search terms released on Wednesday. "Janet Jackson held the number one spot on The Lycos 50 for only two weeks this year, but she generated more search activity in those two weeks than any other search topic, making her the most searched topic in the history of The Lycos 50, and easily the top search of 2004," said Dean Tsouvalas, writer of The Lycos 50. Tsouvalas added that the war in Iraq was the most-searched news event of 2004, just as it was in 2003.
tags: Lycos | Janet Jackson | Search Term |