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Federal Appeals Court Suspends Lower Court Ruling in Cable-ISP Lines Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:34am.
San Francisco, Calif. -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco on Friday temporarily suspended its earlier ruling that would have forced cable companies to offer service from competing Internet service providers on their lines. The court's decision to issue a stay, until the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to consider the case, was applauded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and cable industry, who appealed the October 2002 ruling by the court that the FCC incorrectly ruled in March 2002 that cable broadband networks are an "information service" rather than a "telecommunications service", a distinction that is important because telecommunications services, such as SBC Communications and Verizon Communications, are required to open their broadband lines to third-party ISPs, such as Earthlink and America Online, while information services are not.  Dan Brenner, Senior Vice President of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents major cable operators like Time Warner and Comcast, said in a statement, "We will now turn our attention to developing our formal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and look forward to having this case decided on its merits." http://news.com.com/2100-1028-5189485.html?tag=nefd.hed
tags: Cable | Federal | Laws |

Microsoft to pay $440M in Settlement with InterTrust Technologies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:32am.
Redmond, Wash. and Santa Clara, Calif. -- Microsoft Corp. and InterTrust Technologies Corp. announced on Monday that Microsoft will pay InterTrust $440 million to license its anti-piracy patents and settle their pending litigation. The deal resolved all outstanding legal action between the two sides. Santa Clara, Calif.-based InterTrust, which is owned by an investment group that includes Sony Corp. and Philips Electronics, is a pioneer of software used to control digital distribution rights for media ranging from software to music and filed its lawsuit against Microsoft three years ago.  "Licensing InterTrust's patent portfolio reaffirms Microsoft's commitment to the importance of intellectual property rights as well as our commitment to our end-user customers to stand behind our products in these emerging technology areas," said Marshall Phelps, deputy general counsel at Microsoft.
tags: Microsoft | Intertrust | Technologies |

AOL, Warner Bros. to Integrate AIM Services with "The Matrix Online" Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:30am.
Dulles, Virginia -- America Online, Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced on Monday that AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM) service will be integrated into "The Matrix Online" game, marking the first time that players in a massively multiplayer online game can link an existing AIM identity to a new in-game character. The development allows for real-time communication with other Matrix players as well as other AIM buddies, whether or not they're playing the game. "By integrating AOL's renowned instant messaging technologies into the gaming world with The Matrix Online, we're enabling consumers to extend their entertainment experience beyond the game and into their everyday lives," said Matthew Bromberg, vice president and general manager, AOL® Games.  "It is AOL's goal to bring online entertainment to the mass market. This is one example of how we're leveraging AOL's tools, services and technologies to bring that goal to life."
tags: Games | AOL | Warner Bros | AIM Services | The Matrix Online |

Nielsen SoundScan Reports CD Sales Up 10.6% in First Quarter of 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:28am.
Los Angeles, Calif. -- Nielsen SoundScan announced on Friday that sales of CDs, which represent 96 percent of album sales, rose 10.6 percent in the first quarter of 2004, resulting in the industry's best domestic sales in years. For the first time since 2000, two recording artists -- Norah Jones and Usher -- managed to sell more than 1 million copies of their albums in a single week this year.  "We've had a big run so far,'' said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts and senior analyst for Billboard Magazine. "Because we've had three years of erosion, at least for the first eight months of the year, it will be relatively easy for the industry to post increases.'' Cary Sherman, President of the Recording Industry Association of America, called the first-quarter figures "good news,'' but cautioned that the results were measured against a dismal period.
tags: Nielsen | Sales | Deal | SoundScan |

MyDTV Raises $7 Million in New Funding

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 12, 2004 - 6:26am.
Burlingame, Calif. -- MyDTV, a Burlingame-based developer of TV search engine technologies, said on Monday that it has raised $7 million in a new funding round led by San Francisco-based WaldenVC. Previous investors Rothschild Ventures and Defta Partners also participated. The company plans to use the money to support continued development of its TV metadata technology, as well as expand. MyDTV's system connects to programmers' production systems to automatically generate metadata that is continuously broadcasted to the viewer's digital receiver. When upcoming programs match a viewer-defined profile, a recommendation banner pops up on whatever channel the viewer is watching. The viewer can then click on the banner to access the desired channel or continue watching current programming. MyDTV was launched in 2000.
tags: Deal | New | Funding | DTV |