Archives

Court Decision Opens Door to More Cable Broadband Competition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:58am.
San Francisco -- In a decision that could play a huge role in the future of broadband Internet services in the U.S., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday refused to reverse an earlier ruling that would force major providers of cable Internet access to share their infrastructure with smaller competitors, much like telecommunications networks are shared today. The court in October had ruled that the Federal Communications Commission erred when it classified cable Internet as an information service instead of a telecommunications service. The same court has now refused to rehear the case. While consumer groups are hailing the ruling as a victory for consumers, who could ultimately have their choice of lower-cost providers, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, an industry trade group, urged further action. "While we are disappointed with the Ninth Circuit ruling, we will urge the FCC to seek U.S. Supreme Court review," the NCTA said in a statement. "We believe that if and when the Ninth Circuit's decision is given a full substantive review by the Supreme Court, it will be reversed."
tags: Broadband | Competition | Cables | Laws |

DVD Copying Software Firm Appeals Court-Ordered Bans of its Products

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:56am.
St. Louis -- 321 Studios, the maker of DVD movie copying software recently ordered by two federal judges to halt distribution of the application, announced that it will appeal both court rulings. The company filed appeals and emergency stay requests to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (California) and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (New York). Among 321's arguments on appeal will be that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits circumventing copyright security on media like DVDs, effectively denies consumers tools to exercise their traditional "fair use" rights of such media. The next step in the Second Circuit case will be a hearing on a motion for stay of the injunction against 321 on April 13, while the Ninth Circuit will first begin hearing briefs on June 18.
tags: DVD | Software | Laws | Firm |

Second Judge Rules RIAA Must File Separate "John Doe" Copyright Suits

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:54am.
Orlando, Fla. -- A second U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may not lump together its "John Doe" copyright infringement lawsuits against alleged music file-swappers into a single action. The Federal District Court in the Middle District of Florida ruled on Thursday that the record companies suing 25 subscribers of Internet service provider Bright House for copyright infringement must file separate suits against each "John Doe" defendant. Last month, a federal judge in Philadelphia came to the same conclusion, ruling the RIAA must file 203 separate suits against Comcast subscribers. "Courts are beginning to recognize that the record companies crusade against filesharers is stepping on the privacy and due process rights of those accused," said Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
tags: RIAA | John Doe | Second | Suits |

U.S. Indie Record Labels Look to Form Own Trade Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:51am.
New York -- Over 150 U.S. independent record labels are negotiating to form their own trade group to negotiate copyright and distribution matters on behalf of members, The Financial Times reported. Details for the group, whose working title is "American Music Independents," will be discussed during meetings in New York and Los Angeles this month. The group would give a voice to independents not represented by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whose members include the major record labels Sony, BMG, EMI, Warner and Universal. U.S. independent record labels represent approximately 13% of the world's $13 billion total music sales, and about 30% of the online retail market. The proposed U.S. group has consulted both the U.K.'s Association of Independent Music (AIM) and Europe's Impala -- which represents 2,400 independent labels -- on organizing the collective.
tags: Indie | Labels | Record | U.S. |

Electronics Retailer Circuit City Buys Digital Music Firm MusicNow

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:37am.
Richmond, Va. -- Electronics retail store chain Circuit City announced that it will purchase the assets of Chicago-based digital music subscription service developer MusicNow (formerly FullAudio). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. MusicNow operates the digital music subscription services offered on websites for Clear Channel-owned radio stations, and also markets its library of 400,000 tracks to Best Buy and SBC Yahoo DSL customers. Under the deal, MusicNow will retain its current operations and staff, and Circuit City will integrate the company's platform on its CircuitCity.com site as well as within its 600 national Superstores.
tags: Digital Music | Electronics | Circuit | City |

XM Satellite Radio Beats Estimates, Reports 1.68 Million Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 8:01am.
Washington -- XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced that it added 320,000 net new subscribers during the first quarter of 2003 -- a 230% increase over the number added in the same period last year -- and now counts a total of 1.68 million subscribers. The numbers beat analyst estimates, which projected XM would add 259,000 subscribers during the quarter. "This strong performance firmly positions the company for its 2004 goal of more than 2.8 million subscribers by year's end," said XM CEO Hugh Panero.
tags: Deals | Satellite Radio | XM | Estimates |

Game Developer Union Entertainment Raises $1.2 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 2, 2004 - 7:56am.

Los Angeles -- Union Entertainment, a studio looking to develop both feature films and video games, announced that it has raised $1.2 million in funding from Korean software developer Digital Tetra. Los Angeles-based Union says it intends to focus on developing video games based on big-budget Hollywood movies, and will develop games to the point of playability -- or "demo" level -- before seeking deals with game publishers. The company was founded in January 2003 by video game industry veteran Richard Leibowitz and film producer Sean O'Keefe.
http://www.unionentertainment.com
tags: Games | Deal | Entertainment | Union |