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DMW Daily, January 29, 2008

Top Stories
o EU Court Rules ISPs Need Not ID File-Swappers in Civil Suits
o Report: 27% of U.S. iPhones "Unlocked" for Other Networks
o Microsoft to Serve Ads on Wall Street Journal Websites
o Universal, Sony BMG Team on Digital Licensing in Asia
o Ticketmaster Acquires European Ticket Resale Site Get Me In
o Digital 3D Cinema Company Real D Raises $20 Million
o Social Network Hi5 Gets $15 Million in Debt Financing
o Mobile Social Network Mig33 Lands $13.5 Million
o ShoZu Raises $12 Million for Mobile Social Media Services
o Casual Multiplayer Game Developer C3L3B Digital Gets $3 Million
o Votigo Raises $1.26 Million for Corporate Social Media Tools
Opinion & Analysis
o Analysis: Heath Ledger Tragic Death Drives Traffic To Newspaper Websites
o Analysis: People With The Power To Link
Briefly Noted
o T-Mobile Sells Over 70,000 iPhones in Germany
o Vin Di Bona, Dave Networks Launch User-Generated Video Site
o Endemol USA, Metacafe Team for Online Late-Night Trivia Show
o Habbo to Sell Virtual Movie Paraphernalia for Paramount
o "Grand Theft Auto" 'Hot Coffee' Settlement Details Posted Online
o EMI Promo Offers Free Downloads to N.Y. Daily News Readers
o Dolly Parton Signs with INgrooves for Digital Distribution
o Ustream.TV to Produce Live Webcast of 2008 GOP Convention
o Gather.com, Decca Label Group Detail Nationwide Music Contest
o Continental Airlines to Offer In-flight DirecTV, E-mail
 Top Stories
o EU Court Rules ISPs Need Not ID File-Swappers in Civil Suits 
Brussels - Delivering a setback to the global music industry's legal campaign against illegal file-sharing, the European Court of Justice has ruled that EU countries need not disclose the identities of suspected file-swappers in the course of civil lawsuits. [more..]
o Report: 27% of U.S. iPhones "Unlocked" for Other Networks 
San Francisco - An analyst has estimated that more than a quarter of U.S. consumers who purchased Apple's iPhone last year "unlocked" the device for use on networks other than AT&T's, in a development that could harm Apple's ability to strike deals with other network operators, Reuters reported. [more..]
o Microsoft to Serve Ads on Wall Street Journal Websites 
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with News Corp.'s Wall Street Journal Digital Network, to become the exclusive provider of contextual and paid search ads on sites including The Wall Street Journal Online, Barrons.com, MarketWatch.com and AllThingsD.com. [more..]
o Universal, Sony BMG Team on Digital Licensing in Asia 
Los Angeles - Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and major record label Sony BMG on Tuesday announced a digital licensing agreement for the Southeast Asia and India markets, in some areas creating licensing rules in countries where none previously existed. [more..]
o Ticketmaster Acquires European Ticket Resale Site Get Me In 
London - IAC's Ticketmaster announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Get Me In, a London-based Web marketplace for secondary ticket sales in Europe. [more..]
o Digital 3D Cinema Company Real D Raises $20 Million 
Los Angeles - Real D, a provider of digital cinema 3D projection systems, has raised $20 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing, led by Pequot Capital, PEHub.com reported. [more..]
o Social Network Hi5 Gets $15 Million in Debt Financing 
Palo Alto, Calif. - Hi5 Networks, an online social network with more than 70 million registered users, has raised $15 million in debt financing from Hercules Technology Growth Capital. [more..]
o Mobile Social Network Mig33 Lands $13.5 Million 
Burlingame, Calif. - Mig33, the developer of a mobile social network with 9 million users, announced on Tuesday that it has raised a $13.5 million second round of financing, led by DCM. [more..]
o ShoZu Raises $12 Million for Mobile Social Media Services 
London - ShoZu, a developer of mobile social media services, announced on Tuesday that it has closed on a $12 million third round of funding, led by new investor SEB Venture Capital. [more..]
o Casual Multiplayer Game Developer C3L3B Digital Gets $3 Million 
Simi Valley, Calif. - C3L3B ("Celeb") Digital, a developer of Web 2.0 and casual multiplayer online games, has raised $3 million of an expected $4 million round of venture capital, from BlueRun Ventures, PEHub.com reported. [more..]
o Votigo Raises $1.26 Million for Corporate Social Media Tools 
Oakland, Calif. - Votigo, a provider of social media tools for user-generated promotions, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $1.26 million in its first round of funding, from Headwaters Holdings and additional angel investors. [more..]
 Opinion & Analysis
o Analysis: Heath Ledger Tragic Death Drives Traffic To Newspaper Websites 
The tragic death of Hollywood actor Heath Ledger also generated a significant volume of UK Internet traffic for newspapers last week, blogs Robin Goad of Hitwise UK. [more..]
o Analysis: People With The Power To Link 
Influence on the web is all about connectivity — the larger the network, the more powerful the links, blogs Scott Karp. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
o T-Mobile Sells Over 70,000 iPhones in Germany 
London - T-Mobile, Apple's iPhone launch partner in Germany, has sold at least 70,000 of the devices since they went on sale in the country on Nov. 9, The Register reported. [more..]
o Vin Di Bona, Dave Networks Launch User-Generated Video Site 
Las Vegas - Hollywood Licensing, a licensing and new media firm co-run by "America's Funniest Home Videos" executive producer Vin Di Bona, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Dave Networks to launch Reality.tv, a site that will feature user-submitted home videos. [more..]
o Endemol USA, Metacafe Team for Online Late-Night Trivia Show 
Los Angeles - Television production company Endemol USA ("Deal or No Deal," "Big Brother") announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with online video site Metacafe to launch an online late-night game show called "Buzzed." [more..]
o Habbo to Sell Virtual Movie Paraphernalia for Paramount 
Los Angeles - Habbo, an online virtual world for teens, said on Tuesday that Viacom's Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment has authorized the creation and distribution of virtual goods on Habbo based on its "The Spiderwick Chronicles," "Beowulf" and "Mean Girls" properties. [more..]
o "Grand Theft Auto" 'Hot Coffee' Settlement Details Posted Online 
New York - A website has been set up to inform consumers of how to receive compensation resulting from the settlement of class action lawsuits against Take-Two Interactive, over the "Hot Coffee" explicit sexual content included in the initial release of its "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." [more..]
o EMI Promo Offers Free Downloads to N.Y. Daily News Readers 
New York - Major record label EMI on Tuesday announced a promotion with The New York Daily News, whereby readers will find a code redeemable for three free song downloads via NYDailyNews.com. [more..]
o Dolly Parton Signs with INgrooves for Digital Distribution 
San Francisco - Digital music distributor INgrooves announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with Dolly Parton and her Dolly Records label, and will digitally distribute her "Backwoods Barbie" album. [more..]
o Ustream.TV to Produce Live Webcast of 2008 GOP Convention 
St. Paul, Minn. - Ustream.TV has been tapped to provide the official live video webcast of the 2008 Republican National Convention. [more..]
o Gather.com, Decca Label Group Detail Nationwide Music Contest 
New York - Social networking site Gather.com said on Tuesday that it has partnered with Universal Music Group's Decca Label Group on a nationwide music contest that will award the winner a deal for a Decca-produced record. [more..]
o Continental Airlines to Offer In-flight DirecTV, E-mail 
Houston, Texas - Continental Airlines announced on Tuesday that it has signed a deal with LiveTV to offer 36 channels of in-flight satellite TV via DirecTV at every seat on its new generation aircraft. [more..]