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Microsoft and EU to Square Off at End of September

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:32am.
Brussels -- The European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg on Tuesday set for the date for the long-awaited battle between the EU and Microsoft. The court said it would hear the software giant's request for a suspension of sanctions against it on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. More than four months ago, the European Commission ruled that Microsoft violated antitrust law and ordered the company to offer a version of the Windows operating system without its Media Player. Microsoft was also ordered to provide rivals with more information and pay a $612 million fine. Microsoft says the sanctions will cause irreparable damage to the company and requests the court suspend them until the case runs its course -- a process that could take more than three years. The Commission, along with many of Microsoft's competitors in Europe, argue that, by the time the case is over, the remedies would be irrelevant. Microsoft said it looked forward to making its case before the court. "We believe we have a strong case for suspension," a spokesperson said.
tags: Microsoft | EU | Square Off |

Anonymous Kazaa Owner May Be Revealed in Aussie Copyright Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:31am.
Sydney -- Legal motions filed by the major record labels may force the silent partner who owns Kazaa file-sharing network parent company Sharman Networks to reveal his or her identity, ZDNet Australia reported. Sharman is facing a copyright infringement suit in Australia that was filed in conjunction a raid on Sharman's offices and the homes of some of its executives. For tax purposes, and some would say to make such copyright suits more difficult to prosecute, Sharman maintains offices in Australia but is legally registered on the island nation of Vanuatu. The notice submitted to Justice Murray Wilcox from Universal's lawyers requests specific details about Sharman's corporate structure, including the identity of its anonymous owner. "It is not an unreasonable thing for the applicants to know who it is that's controlling the system," said Justice Wilcox. The judge ordered both parties to resubmit their arguments for another hearing scheduled for Nov. 29.
tags: Law | Copyright | Aussie | Anonymous Kazaa | Revealed |

Judge Denies Free Speech Defense for Music File-Swappers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:30am.
New York -- In a victory for the recording industry, a federal judge has ruled that cable TV operator Cablevision must reveal the identities of its subscribers whom record labels believe are using their high-speed connections to pirate music on file-sharing networks, CNET News.com reported. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said that while file-swapping does qualify as "speech," Cablevision subscribers sued via "John Doe" lawsuits are not entitled to First Amendment protections, in the first ruling to directly address the issue with regard to copyright infringement on Internet file-sharing networks. The copyright suits were filed in February against 40 "John Doe" Cablevision subscribers; to date, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) member labels have sued nearly 3,000 individuals for copyright infringement on peer-to-peer networks.
tags: Musics | Judge | File-Swappers | Denies |

House Judiciary Passes Bill Protecting Movie Filtering Technologies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:29am.
Washington -- The House Judiciary Committee last week voted in favor of a bill to legalize technology that edits foul language, sexual and violent content from DVD movies. The "Family Movie Act" is intended to protect companies like ClearPlay and Nissim, which have developed technology that can be embedded into DVD players to mute or skip past potentially offensive material on DVD discs. The Directors Guild of America sued a number of companies distributing movie filtering technologies, saying that they alter a director's vision and amount to trademark infringement. The bill, which now moves on to a vote in the full House, would trump such lawsuits. "This pro-family legislation ensures that unnecessary litigation will not prevent parents from having available a valuable tool to protect young kids from objectionable content such as obscenity, sex, and violence," said House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). "This targeted legislation allows neither a copy of the movie to be made nor sold, but rather provides parents with a little more control over what is viewed in their homes."
tags: Movies | Bill | House Judiciary | Filtering Technologies |

New Motorola Phones to Feature Apple iTunes Software

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:28am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Motorola to develop a new iTunes mobile music player to be incorporated into Motorola cell phones. The technology, expected to be available on phones released in the first half of 2005, will allow users to transfer iTunes songs from their Mac or PC to the phone via a USB or Bluetooth wireless connection. "Being able to transfer songs you've purchased from iTunes to Motorola mobile handsets expands the market reach for both of us and drives new revenue for customers, delivering an amazing music experience to millions of wireless users," said Motorola chairman and CEO Ed Zander. The companies did not release details on specific features of either the stripped-down version of iTunes or the new handsets, including how many songs the phones will be able to store.
tags: Apple | Motorola | iTunes | Phones | Softwares |

Internet Video-on-Demand Service CinemaNow Raises $11 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:26am.
Santa Monica, Calif. -- CinemaNow, an Internet video-on-demand service owned by Canadian film studio Lions Gate Entertainment, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $11 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing. Menlo Ventures led the investment round; Cisco Systems and Lions Gate also participated. Santa Monica, Calif.-based CinemaNow offers a library of 5,000 titles from studios including Disney, Fox, MGM, Miramax and Warner Bros. The company also markets its proprietary secure Internet video-on-demand delivery technology to third parties. The funds will be used for further technology development, content acquisition and marketing.
tags: Internet | VC | CinemaNow | Video-on-Demand |

Report: 2003 Japanese Video Game Market Fell 10% to $10.3 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:25am.
Tokyo -- Total video game shipments from Japan in 2003 totaled $10.3 billion, down 10% from 2002's $11.5 billion, according to the 2004 Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association white paper on the Japanese gaming market. Of this total, $3.2 billion in video game products were distributed in Japan and $7.1 billion exported overseas; $6.4 billion was in the form of hardware such as Sony PlayStation 2 or Nintendo Game Boy Advance consoles, while $3.9 billion came from video game software. The report also found that Japan's gaming audience leapt from 23.6 million in 2002 to 34.4 million gamers last year.
tags: Reports | Japanese | Video Games |