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Report: Jackson Super Bowl Incident Tops Sept. 11 Attacks for Web Searches

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:49am.
Waltham, Mass. -- Search engine firm Lycos said on Wednesday that the number of Web searches concerning Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show eclipsed the one-day totals following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. "Prior to this week, the most-searched event in the history of The Lycos 50 over a one-day period was the September 11 attack on America," said Lycos' Aaron Schatz. "Jackson's halftime exposure also far surpasses the other top stories we've tracked on The Lycos 50. Over the course of one day, it received three times as many searches as the 2000 Election. It also received four times as many searches as the Iraq War on the day that Al-Jazeera broadcast video of American prisoners of war, and received five times as many searches as the day the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded." Lycos also noted that on Monday, Jackson and halftime show received 60 times as many searches as the Paris Hilton sex tape and 80 times as many searches as Britney Spears, the two most-dominating recent search topics.
tags: Reports | Super Bowl | Jackson | Web Searches |

Hollywood Argues P2P Services Aren't "Non-Infringing," Can Filter Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:48am.
Pasadena, Calif. -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday heard arguments in the entertainment industry's challenge to an earlier court ruling that said peer-to-peer file-sharing services are not liable for copyright infringement. The major record labels, movie studios, music publishers and others initially filed the claims against file-sharing software distributors Grokster and Morpheus, but have similar litigation pending against the more-popular Kazaa. Much of the discussion Tuesday centered on whether the landmark 1984 Supreme Court "Betamax" decision -- which said the VCR was not a copyright infringement device because of its substantial non-infringing uses -- can be applied to file-sharing services. Attorney Russell Frackman argued that the Betamax decision shouldn't apply, because 90% of content on these services is infringing, and also because Grokster and Morpheus have the ability to filter or block copyrighted content. Judge John Noonan replied that the remaining 10% of P2P traffic "sounds like a lot of non-infringing files to me," the Associated Press reported. To which Frackman responded, "If 10 percent is commercially sufficient ... then let them build their business on that 10 percent." The three-judge appellate panel is not expected to deliver its ruling for several months.
tags: P2P | Hollywood | Musics | Non-Infringing |

Microdrive Developer Cornice Raises $51 Million in Second Round

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:47am.
Longmont, Colo. -- Cornice, a developer of small hard disk drives for consumer electronics like MP3 players, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $51 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Participating in the round were new investors BA Venture Partners and GIC Special Investments, as well as previous investors CIBC Capital Partners, Nokia Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. Colorado-based Cornice offers 1.5GB and 2GB disks that are one-inch in diameter, and have been used in MP3 players and other devices from consumer electronics firms including Philips and Samsung. The company, which has raised $81 million to date, will use the new funds to support sales, development and manufacturing initiatives.
tags: VC | Second Round | Cornice | Microdrive |

Eidos Options "Fear Effect" Game to German Film Producer Uwe Boll

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:46am.
San Francisco -- U.K.-based game developer Eidos announced on Wednesday that it has optioned yet another of its video game franchises, this time to German producer/director Uwe Boll, to be made into a full-length feature film. Boll, who also produced Artisan's "House of the Dead," based on the Sega game, and Columbia's "Alone in the Dark," based on the Atari game, will now produce Eidos' "Fear Effect," an anime-style action-adventure title featuring two heroine protagonists. Eidos has also previously optioned its "Tomb Raider," which has spawned two feature films, as well as its "Deus Ex" title to Columbia Pictures and producer Laura Zisken in 2002.
tags: Games | Eidos | Fear Effect | German | Uwe Boll |

CD Copy-Protection Firm Quiet Tiger to Acquire DarkNoise Technologies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:44am.
Phoenix, Ariz. -- Quiet Tiger, an international marketing firm and vendor for anti-piracy firm SunnComm's CD copy-protection products, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire U.K.-based DarkNoise Technologies, a developer of copy-protection technology. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. DarkNoise's technology purports to plug the "analog hole" by restricting the uploading of music files to the Internet without reducing playability on all devices. A hidden audio watermark is embedded onto the CD, which is inaudible if the CD is legally copied. However, if a user attempts to illegally copy the protected audio using analog recording devices, analog-to-digital converters or conversion to MP3, the watermark becomes audible -- ruining the unauthorized copy. Arizona-based SunnComm intends to combine the technology with its own CD copy-protection technology, and said it will have beta versions available for testing by record companies within 60 days.
tags: CD | Copy-Protection | Quiet Tiger | DarkNoise Technologies |

Targeted News Provider YellowBrix Merges with FluentMedia

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2004 - 1:44am.
Alexandria, Va. -- YellowBrix, a provider of targeted news and information products and related technologies, said on Wednesday that it has merged with Chicago-based FluentMedia, a content licensing agency of Tribune Media Services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined company will keep the YellowBrix name and be based in Alexandria, Virginia. The deal will compliment both companies' offerings. Both provide clients with news, commentary and other information from a wide variety of sources, including newspapers, wire services and trade publications. YellowBrix customers distribute this information to their end users via email, web sites and wireless devices.
tags: News | merges | YellowBrix | FluentMedia |