New York - Microsoft has been ordered by a federal jury to pay $1.52 billion in damages to Alcatel-Lucent, for infringing on the company's digital music patents. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Networking equipment maker Cisco Systems and Apple announced late Wednesday that they have resolved their dispute over the "iPhone" trademark, with both companies free to use the trademark on their products worldwide. [more..]

Washington - The House Judiciary Committee said that its newly formed Antitrust Task Force will hold a hearing next week to debate the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio and rival Sirius. [more..]

San Francisco - Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said Wednesday that adding anti-piracy technologies to its YouTube video-sharing site and other services is "one of the company's highest priorities," and added that such copyright protection will be launched shortly, Reuters reported. [more..]

St. John's, Antigua - Software developer SlySoft has begun selling a $79 program that can be used by average consumers to copy movies and other programming on next-generation HD DVD discs. [more..]

San Francisco - CNET News.com reported on Thursday that sources say both Microsoft and video compression developer DivX have recently met with video-sharing site Revver, with eyes toward possibly acquiring the company. [more..]

Los Angeles - News Corporation's Fox Interactive Media unit announced on Thursday that it has acquired interactive advertising technology developer Strategic Data Corporation (SDC). [more..]

Los Angeles - The Writers Guild of America has announced that a judge has dismissed an unfair labor practice complaint filed against it by NBC, which claimed the guild had unlawfully pressured writer-producers at top NBC shows not to write "webisodes." [more..]

Seattle - Getty Images, a provider of stock celebrity and other images to publishers, announced on Thursday that it will acquire WireImage, an agency that produces entertainment industry and events images, for about $200 million in cash. [more..]

Darien, Conn. - Jupitermedia, a provider of images, information and events for IT, business and creative professionals, on Thursday confirmed that it is in buyout negotiations with Getty Images, a Seattle-based distributor of image collections. [more..]

Los Angeles - TV production company Endemol USA ("Big Brother," "Fear Factor," "Deal or No Deal") announced that it has acquired JoeCartoon.com, a producer of original animation content, Variety reported. [more..]

Wellesley, Mass. - Mobixell, a provider of mobile multimedia technology, announced that it will pay $5.5 million to acquire virtually all the assets of Adamind, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based supplier of media adaptation software for mobile communications. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Google on Thursday launched a new premium version of its Google Apps hosted services for business applications. The new version, available for $50 a year per user account, includes tools like GMail, Google Calendar, Google Talk and IM, and Google Docs -- the company's version of popular business applications like word processing and spreadsheets. [more..]

London - Microsoft plans to demonstrate its IPTV technology for the Xbox 360 video game console for the first time next month in London at The Connected Home Show, part of the IPTV World Forum. "Separately the Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences, but IPTV on Xbox 360 delivers a real value proposition for consumers, service providers and content and game developers alike," said Ed Graczyk, worldwide director of marketing and communications for Microsoft TV. The company is expected to launch IPTV for the Xbox 360 as early as this fall. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo is planning to launch an unorthodox news website that will feature an anchor who will sing the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sources told THR that "Odd News Underground" will feature offbeat news and an anchor not unknown either as a journalist or a musician; Yahoo would not reveal the person's identity. Yahoo's other original news venture, "The Hot Zone With Kevin Sites," was launched last year and chronicles the journalist's travels to war zones around the world. [more..]

New York - IFC Entertainment announced on Thursday that it has made selections from its catalog of independent films available for purchase and download from Apple's iTunes Store. The first 13 films to be added to iTunes, available for $9.99 each, include "American Gun," "Land of Plenty" and "Sorry, Haters." IFC's library also includes titles such as "Wordplay," "Boys Don't Cry" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien." [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Intertrust, a digital rights management (DRM) developer jointly owned by Sony and Philips, announced that it has partnered with Spain-based wireless carrier Telefonica to develop and test mobile digital rights management technologies. The companies plan to trial Marlin -- a DRM system developed jointly by Intertrust, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony -- with European mobile customers in the second quarter of 2007. [more..]

San Francisco - Soundflavor, a developer of digital music search and discovery technology, said on Thursday that it has partnered with digital music distributor IODA to distribute free songs to users of the Soundflavor DJ application. The library of more than 20,000 promotional tracks from 3,000 labels from IODA will be recommended to users of Soundflavor, an iTunes companion that suggests similar songs based on what a user is currently listening to in iTunes. [more..]

New York - Verizon announced on Thursday an agreement with video-sharing site Revver, to offer user-generated videos from Revver for free to its FiOS TV and consumer broadband customers. Revver content is slated to launch on Verizon's Surround broadband entertainment portal by the end of the first quarter, and on FiOS TV later this year. [more..]

Washington - GoIsIn.com said that it has launched its service that allows users to save pictures, text and videos from a mobile phone for free. The company, which is privately funded, said that the service does not require software to install or extra data plans from phone service providers. Users send content to a private GoIsIn.com e-mail account from their phone or e-mail program, where it may then be organized and shared. The company said that it plans to launch new tools and enhancements in the coming weeks, and is in the extremely early stages of seeking private equity. [more..]

San Francisco - Rick Marazzani, a game developer who has worked for Electronic Arts, Pogo and Digital Chocolate, has announced the formation of a new casual games studio, iQ212. Based in San Francisco, the company plans to develop casual game titles for online, mobile and PC platforms. iQ212 plans to introduce its first titles at the Game Developers Conference next month in San Francisco. [more..]

San Diego - Toy designer Jasman Toys announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Microsoft and game developer Bungie Studios, to produce a line of infrared laser tag games based on their "Halo 3" video game. Slated for release later this year, the game will include models of weapons featured in the game, such as the Covenant's Plasma Rifle and Energy Sword. [more..]

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ announced on Thursday that it plans to publish its internal studio Juice Games' sequel "Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights" in the fall. The title is being developed for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and the PC. [more..]

New York - 2K Sports, a unit of Take-Two Interactive, on Thursday announced the tracklist for the soundtrack to its "Major League Baseball 2K7" title, which is slated to ship to retailers next week. The game will feature songs from artists including the Pixies, the Stooges, Nirvana, Les Savy Fav and Death From Above 1979. [more..]