New York - A federal judge has granted MySpace's motion to dismiss charges of negligence, fraud and negligent misrepresentation filed by the family of a girl from Austin, Texas who was assaulted by a man she met on the website, Reuters reported. [more..]

Washington - The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which represents U.S. software, music, movie and video game firms, has asked the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to add Canada to the U.S. "priority watch list" of countries considered havens for piracy, which includes China, Russia and Venezuela. [more..]

San Francisco - Digital civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking anyone whose videos were wrongly removed from YouTube as part of Viacom's request that 100,000 copyrighted clips be taken down to come forward and possibly assert their rights in court, CNET News.com reported on Thursday. [more..]

New York - Air America Radio, the New York-based liberal talk radio network that in October filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has seen its proposed $4.25 million sale to SLG Radio hit a roadblock, according to TheDeal.com. [more..]

San Francisco - Sling Media, a developer of "place-shifting" technology that lets users access their premium home TV channels and recorded programs while on the go from any Internet-connected device, has been served a patent lawsuit by the inventor of a wireless speaker system, CNET News.com reported on Thursday. [more..]

Tokyo - Japanese electronics firm Sharp on Thursday introduced a $1,260 Blu-ray recorder in Japan that utilizes the existing tuner on Sharp televisions to record high-definition TV programs, eliminating the cost of adding separate tuner on the device. [more..]

New York - A group of former campaign staffers and others has launched TechPresident.com, a site that will cover how candidates make use of social networking, blogs and the Internet during the upcoming presidential campaign. [more..]

Los Angeles - Gemstar-TV Guide International, a provider of electronic program guides for digital TV services, and the publisher of TV Guide, announced on Thursday that it has acquired a number of TV-related websites. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Reactrix Systems, a provider of interactive media services to malls and theaters, said on Thursday that it has raised $45 million in its fourth round of funding. [more..]

London - U.K. mobile network operator 3 UK announced that it has partnered with San Diego-based Intercasting to provide its 3.75 million subscribers with access to social networks including LiveJournal, Xanga, Vox and BlackPlanet from their mobile phones. "Users will get a social networking experience tailored for the data and media capabilities of their phones, helping to drive adoption and repeat usage over the 3 network," said Rob Wells, head of mobile broadband at 3 UK. [more..]

Barcelona - ShoZu, a provider of mobile media delivery technology, announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records, which will use the company's technology for its street marketing efforts. The deal will see bands equipped with ShoZu-enabled camera phones that allow one-click uploading of photos and video clips for distribution to artist and fan sites, MySpace and other destinations. [more..]

Barcelona - The Sundance Institute announced on Thursday that five made-for-mobile short films commissioned by the Sundance Film Festival Global Short Film Project have been made available for streaming or download by the public. The free films can be accessed by texting the word 'FILM' to +44-7624807811. Once downloaded, the films can be also shared using Bluetooth or memory card transfer. [more..]

Atlanta - The Weather Channel announced on Thursday the launch of "Epic," a broadband site featuring video that "highlights the impact of weather on surfing, snow-skiing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting and sailing." The site is a companion property of Epic Conditions, a new program debuting in March on The Weather Channel. [more..]

San Francisco - OpenTV, a provider of interactive TV software and services, said on Thursday that NBC is using its Participate platform to power live, PC-based interactive TV elements for its primetime show, "Heroes." The "two-screen" interactive service allows TV viewers to enter live polls and predict the outcome of storylines, with real-time statistics fed to their PCs. [more..]

Los Angeles - Verizon Wireless on Thursday announced the launch of a dedicated mobile channel for recording artist Justin Timberlake on its V CAST service. JT-TV will offer fashion, film, music and lifestyle content, such as video clips of Timberlake's recent William Rast fashion show. [more..]

New York - Nielsen Business Media, which publishes The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek and Backstage, said on Thursday that it has partnered with Mdog.com to create mobile websites for its titles. The sites allow users to access breaking news, story archives, contact directories and casting notices from their mobile phones. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Japanese mobile game developer Namco Networks on Thursday released "Scene It? Movie Edition," which it says is the first mobile game in North America to integrate video into gameplay. Based on the DVD trivia game that incorporates licensed movie clips, the mobile game includes more than 1,000 questions that feature text, audio and video. Sprint and Namco are currently offering a free demo of the game. [more..]