Washington - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday denied webcasters' motions to delay the implementation of new royalty rates for streaming music while their appeal of the rates is heard. [more..]

New York - Sony BMG has filed suit against a maker of CD anti-piracy technology the major record label said cost it millions of dollars, after the software was found to potentially open computers to hackers, leading to a recall and government investigations, the Associated Press reported. [more..]

Dulles, Va. - Avoiding a potential lawsuit, AOL has reached a settlement with the attorneys general of Maryland, Virginia and DC, along with those from 46 other states, over its cancellation and refund policies. [more..]

Tokyo - Sony Computer Entertainment on Thursday announced plans to release a slimmer, lighter version of its PSP handheld game system that also adds a video-out port. [more..]

San Francisco - Imeem, a social network focused on music and other media, announced on Thursday that major label Warner Music Group has dismissed its copyright infringement claims against the company, and licensed its catalog of songs and music videos available for on-demand streaming in North America on the free, ad-supported service. [more..]

Cedar Knolls, N.J. - MediaBay, a provider of spoken word audio content that has been seeking a buyer since early last year, announced that it is ceasing operations. [more..]

New York - In-game advertising network IGA Worldwide announced on Thursday that it has raised $25 million in its second round of venture capital financing, co-led by GE/NBC Universal's Peacock Equity and KTB Ventures. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Obopay, a provider of mobile payments services, said on Thursday that it has raised $29 million in its third round of funding, led by Richmond Global Cellular. [more..]

Seattle - Casual games developer and publisher PopCap Games announced on Thursday that it has acquired Retro64, a developer of retro-arcade style action and puzzle games. [more..]

San Mateo, Calif. - Adap.tv, a provider of online video advertising technology, announced on Thursday that it has raised $10 million in its first round of funding, from new investor Redpoint Ventures and existing backer Gemini Israel Funds. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - TheFind.com, a developer of a shopping search engine for lifestyle goods, said on Thursday that it has secured $15 million in its third round of funding, led by Bain Capital Ventures. [more..]

Atlanta - Digital Envoy, a developer of Internet Protocol (IP) intelligence and geolocation technology, has been acquired by Landmark Communications, a privately held media company that owns newspapers, TV stations and various websites. [more..]

Google-the-Pimp is back, and Scott Goldberg is here to provide 5 more search terms to stay away from (or to enter, if that's your thing)! [more..]

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Rohit Bhargava blogs about the hyperactive egos of many bloggers and how to market to them.
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Frankfurt - HD DVD players have outsold the rival Blu-ray format three-to-one so far this year in Europe, Reuters reported, citing figures from the European HD DVD Promotional Group. [more..]

New York - MusicNet, the digital music provider that was originally launched by AOL, RealNetworks and major labels but is now owned by Baker Capital, on Thursday announced that it has renamed itself MediaNet Digital. [more..]

San Francisco - Gay media company PlanetOut announced on Thursday that it will close its international offices in Buenos Aires and London. [more..]

New York - Universal Pictures has partnered with Google and marketing firm Big Spaceship on a promotional online game for its "Bourne Ultimatum" movie, in which players will have to utilize Google's search engine, maps, images and YouTube. [more..]

New York - ABC News announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Amazon's CustomFlix to make hundreds of hours of historic programming available for purchase through the DVD on Demand service. [more..]

Los Angeles - Napster said on Thursday that its unlimited, over-the-air music subscription service has launched in Japan with carrier NTT DoCoMo. [more..]

London - Brightcove, a provider of Internet TV delivery services, announced on Thursday the launch of its new U.K. operations, which will be headquartered in central London. [more..]

Culver City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America said it plans to preview over 50 games for its platforms at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this week in Los Angeles, including 30 first-party titles. [more..]