Los Angeles - A federal judge has rejected a pillar of the recording industry's argument in the copyright infringement lawsuits it has filed against file-swappers, ruling that simply "making available" songs in a shared folder on their computers equates to infringement. [more..]

Washington - The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved the PRO-IP Act, a bill that would provide more resources for the government to combat intellectual property crimes, increase penalties, and create a White House-level position to coordinate efforts. [more..]

Los Angeles - Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has called the band's move to let consumers decide how much, if anything, to pay for its new album "In Rainbows" a "one-off," which likely won't be repeated again, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [more..]

Dulles, Va. - Another sharp drop in subscription revenue took its toll on AOL's bottom line during the first quarter, parent Time Warner said on Wednesday. [more..]

New York - In a move expected by analysts, media conglomerate Time Warner will completely spin off its cable TV company, CEO Jeffrey L. Bewkes announced in a statement on Wednesday. [more..]

Santa Clara, Calif. - Four months after first announcing plans to acquire Gemstar-TV Guide, Macrovision, a provider of anti-piracy technology and informational databases, said that shareholders from both companies have now approved the $2.3 billion deal. [more..]

Westwood, Mass. - Turbine, a developer and publisher of multiplayer online games, is raising a $40 million third round of venture capital financing, led by Granite Global Ventures, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

San Francisco - Kongregate, a publisher of free social online games, has received a $3 million investment from Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, SiliconValley.com reported. [more..]

Valley Stream, N.Y. - Zodiac Interactive, whose interactive TV software has garnered the company an Emmy award, announced on Wednesday that it has sold its Zodigo mobile content search engine through a management buy-out led by Matt Johnston, formerly Zodiac SVP of strategy and CEO of Zodigo. [more..]

Los Angeles - Mister Wong, a Germany-based social bookmarks site, has acquired Lifestream.fm, a service that allows users to aggregate RSS feeds from various social media sites, Mashable.com reports. [more..]

It's a good thing Google makes so much money from its core business of placing text ads next to search results, because it's still searching for the special sauce on its other big initiatives, blogs Paul Sweeting. [more..]

New York - Playboy Enterprises on Wednesday announced a number of new digital initiatives, including a new YouTube channel that will host video submissions for prospective new models, and the creation of a Playboy Audience Network of video sites through which it will distribute content. [more..]

London - Major label EMI said on Tuesday that the new Coldplay single it began offering as a free download for a week as of yesterday has already been downloaded more than 600,000 times, Billboard reports. [more..]

Los Angeles - Virgin Mobile USA on Wednesday announced a ringtone promotion with fast food chain Burger King and Warner Music Group, to create a "Virgin Mobile Ringtone Value Menu" that will offer a selection of ringtones for just $1 each. [more..]

Reston, Va. - Following the launch of its North American satellite earlier this month, ICO Global Communications said that it has signed a deal with Discovery Communications, which will provide content for the alpha trials of the company's new mobile interactive media service, known as ICO mim. [more..]

San Diego - Eventful, a site that aggregates local event listings, said on Wednesday that it will provide a selection of regional events to The Guide, a new resource on live music, book signings, art galleries, restaurants and other activities offered by the Los Angeles Times. [more..]