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RIAA Sues Another 493 File-Swappers for Copyright Infringement

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:40am.
Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced on Monday that it has sued an additional 493 individuals for infringing copyrights on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, bringing the total of suits filed against song-swappers by the music industry trade group to nearly 3,000. The new lawsuits were filed against "John Doe" defendants, which the RIAA seeks to identify by subpoenaing information from their Internet service providers. The RIAA also said Monday that it sued 24 individuals by name, whose identities were discovered in previous John Doe lawsuits. Although as many as 400 defendants have settled with the RIAA for an average of $3,000, the group said it will follow through with litigation when defendants decline a settlement. "We will continue to go the extra mile and seek to resolve these cases in a fair and reasonable manner," said RIAA president Cary Sherman.
tags: RIAA | Copyright | Infringement | File-Swappers |

Report: $2.3 Billion Q1 2004 Online Ad Revenues Break All-Time Record

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:37am.
New York -- Internet advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2004 totaled $2.3 billion -- the highest quarterly total since tracking was established in 1996 -- making a 39% jump over first quarter revenues a year ago, according to a report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers on behalf of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). "Clearly, we're thrilled with the numbers. However, they are just one side of an enormously compelling story," said IAB president and CEO Greg Stuart. "The last two years have offered marketers the opportunity to collect research and data that proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Internet advertising accomplishes key marketing goals as well, if not better, than any other ad medium. The proof is in the results." The IAB made a point to note that this was is the first time in history where first quarter revenues outpaced the previous year's fourth quarter totals, as the fourth quarter is traditionally the strongest each year.
tags: Internet | Reports | All-Time Record |

Judge Orders Microsoft to Search for E-Mail Related to Burst.com Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:37am.
Santa Rosa, Calif. -- A federal judge in Baltimore has ordered software giant Microsoft to search for an e-mail from one of its executives that allegedly ordered employees to delete any e-mails relating to the company's discussions with a Bay Area firm, the Associated Press reported. Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Burst.com sued Microsoft in 2002, alleging that the company stole its ideas for multimedia software after discussing the technology for several months with Burst. Now, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz has ordered Microsoft to search computers, servers and backup tapes, as well as question the company's lawyers, about the alleged e-mail sent by vice president James Allchin. According to lawyers for the plaintiff, the e-mail warns employees not to save their e-mail for more than 30 days. Spencer Hosie, an attorney for Burst.com, said that the e-mail could have large ramifications, since Microsoft at the time was "up to its neck in high-stakes litigation." "It appears Microsoft as matter of institutional policy has decided to destroy e-mails in anticipation of litigation," Hosie told the AP.
tags: Microsoft | Burst.com | Judge | E-Mail |

Online Bookseller Alibris Pulls Auction-Style IPO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:36am.
Emeryville, Calif. -- Alibris, an online marketplace for books, music and movies, on Friday pulled its auction-based initial public offering, saying that the IPO did not produce prices attractive to the company. Alibris said that it plans to rely on recently acquired private capital fund operations through profitability. "We did not find attractive the prices offered by the public market," said Marty Manley, the CEO of Alibris. The company, which filed for the IPO in early March, said that it does not expect to seek additional financing. Emeryville, Calif.-based Alibris was relying on a process that relies upon an auction among interested investors to set the opening price and allocate shares of a company's stock. "This process can work, if well-executed by investment banking professionals," said Manley. "An auction that attracts fewer bidders is less likely to result in an attractive price."
tags: Internet | IPO | Alibris | Auction-Style |

Report: European Broadband Penetration to Hit 40% by 2008

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:35am.
London -- A new study by analysis firm Yankee Group predicts that broadband penetration in Western Europe will reach 40% by the year 2008. The report singled out 2003 as the watershed year for broadband in Europe, saying that four developments last year transformed the entire market. First, most operators introduced entry-level tariffs to maintain their customer base and market share. Second, massive marketing campaigns delivered the message of speed and convenience to Internet users. Third, many service providers made the first serious efforts to establish new revenue sources for broadband. Fourth, and perhaps most important, competition has heated up in most countries. The Yankee Group said that in some European countries -- such as Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden -- more than half of all households will be connected. Even so, the decline in ARPU (average revenue per user) will pressure ISPs to control costs tightly and find new sources of revenue in the broadband market.
tags: Broadband | Europe | Reports | Hit |

AOL to Launch Online Ad Campaign for Broadband

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:33am.
Dulles, Va. -- Trying to boost its broadband subscriber base, America Online on Monday unveiled plans to launch its first major online advertising effort since last year. The company said that it will kick off an online branding campaign for its AOL for Broadband service on June 1, to run through July. The service provides broadband-optimized content for Internet users who already have high-speed connections. AOL said that the online campaign is just the first part of what will be a more major campaign later this year incorporating print and broadcast. The ads will target broadband users who frequent premium sites such as nytimes.com, washingtonpost.com, rollingstone.com, mtv.com and abcnews.com, and will run in contextually relevant sites, adjacent to streaming media. "This campaign is intended to speak directly to those who already have a basic high-speed Internet connection through their cable or DSL provider, but may not have AOL for Broadband," said John Lane, the vice president of online marketing for AOL.
tags: Internet | Broadband | AOL | Campaign |

U.K. Charity Oxfam to Offer Music Download Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 24, 2004 - 7:32am.
London -- Entering an increasingly crowded market with Napster, Coca-Cola and Apple Computer's iTunes, U.K.-based charity Oxfam announced on Monday that it, too, would launch a music download service in Europe. "Music lovers get great tracks, and artists see their music helping some of the poorest people in the world through real cash support," said Adrian Lovett, Oxfam's director of campaigns and communications. Oxfam said that it has joined forces with U.K.-based digital music company OD2 to sell downloads for between 75 and 99 pence per track, out of which 10 pence will be devoted to fight poverty and raise funds for humanitarian aid. Oxfam's said its online service would be launched with a library of more than 300,000 songs -- including such artists as Coldplay and George Michael. The service is scheduled to go live on Wednesday, May 26, Oxfam said.
tags: U.K | Musics | Download Service | Charity Oxfam |