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Norway Drops Complaint After Apple iTunes Ditches DRM

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2009 - 7:19am.

Oslo - Norway's consumer ombudsman has withdrawn a complaint against Apple (NASD: AAPL), after the company announced plans to abandon DRM at the iTunes Store by the end of April, Agence France Presse reported.

tags: Law | Policy | Music | Apple | DRM | Norway | iTunes Store |

Buzz Watch: 'DVD Jon' Claims To Have Cracked iPhone Activation

Authored by Jay Baage on July 5, 2007 - 8:29am.
The infamous Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen, known as "DVD Jon," claims to have cracked Apple's iPhone activation. This means that iPhone buyers will be able to activate and use the new handset without having to go to  AT&T Wireless. Potential iPhone consumers expressed their main concern being forced to use AT&T's network in a recent DMW poll and a brigade of hackers have been hard at work on cracking the service lock on the device.
tags: Games | Mobile | Internet | Video | Law | Europe | Apple | Norway | DVD Jon | iPhone |

Norway's Liberal Party Advocates Free File-Sharing, Ban on DRM

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 17, 2007 - 12:31pm.

Oslo, Norway - The Liberal Party of Norway has unanimously passed a resolution that advocates the legalization of free file-sharing, taking a similar stance to The Pirate Party formed in neighboring Sweden, Wired reported.

tags: Policy | P2P | DRM | Copyright | Norway | The Pirate Party | The Liberal Party |

Norwegian Teen First to be Charged With Illegal File-Sharing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 8, 2007 - 8:53am.

Rogaland, Norway - A sixteen-year-old has become the first citizen of Norway to be charged with copyright infringement for illegal file-sharing, the country's Aftenposten newspaper reported.

tags: IFPI | File-Sharing | Norway | Direct Connect |

IDT Forms Mobile Unit, Acquires Norway's Zedge.net

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2006 - 11:47am.
Newark, N.J. - IDT Capital, a unit of the international telecom and technology firm, announced on Monday the formation of an IDT Internet Mobile Group.

The new division will be responsible for the acquisition, development and incubation of Internet and mobile content. With the announcement, IDT also announced its acquisition of Norway-based Zedge.net, a user-generated mobile content site.
tags: Deals | Mobile | Career | Acquisitions | Openings | Norway | UGC | Social Media | IDT | Zedge |

Tandberg, AT&T to Beam Texas H.S. Football Game to U.S. Troops

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2006 - 1:14pm.
Oslo, Norway - Norway-based video system developer Tandberg announced on Friday that it teamed with the Freedom Calls Foundation and AT&T to deliver the broadcast of a Texas high school football game live to U.S. soldiers stationed at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq.
tags: Sports | Video | Broadband | Military | AT&T | Football | Norway | Tandberg | High School | FCF |

Aspiro Acquires Mobile TV Firm Rubberduck for $3.4 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2006 - 1:36pm.
Malmo, Sweden - Sweden-based mobile content distributor Aspiro announced on Monday that it has acquired Oslo, Norway-based Rubberduck Media Lab, a developer of mobile TV and mobile radio technologies, for about $3.4 million. Founded in 2004, Rubberduck provides mobile TV, video and radio technologies to partners including TV4, Telenor, NRK, MTV Nordic, the BBC and Fox Movies. Aspiro said the deal will give it entry into the mobile TV market, as well as new relationships with existing Rubberduck customers.
tags: Deals | Mobile | Video | Mobile TV | Tech | TV | Europe | Sweden | Acquisitions | Norway | Aspiro | Rubberduck |

Apple Refutes Norwegian Watchdog Claims That iTunes is Unfair

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2006 - 12:26pm.
Oslo, Norway - Apple has denied charges made by Norway's Consumer Council that the company breached some of the country's laws with the restrictive terms of its iTunes Music Store, according to published reports. The Council formally complained to Apple that consumers should be able to play songs purchased on iTunes on any MP3 player. In a reply to the Council this week from Apple, the company agreed it should more clearly indicate to Norwegian consumers that iTunes songs will only play on iPods, but rejected claims that the practice was unfair. "It's very difficult to see how locking consumers into the iPod is preserving the rights of any given artist...It's just not replying to (the complaint). Apple is trying to 'smoke screen' it away," Torgeir Waterhouse, senior adviser at the Norwegian Consumer Council, told CNET News.com. The Council has yet to make a final decision, but may choose to impose a fine on Apple or shut down its iTunes Store in Norway. Apple has faced similar claims of unfair competition from France and several other Scandinavian countries.
tags: Law | Music | iPod | Apple | Commerce | MP3 | DRM | iTunes | Norway |

Sweden, Norway, U.K. Petition Apple to Open iTunes to iPod Rivals

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 9, 2006 - 1:43pm.
Paris - Several European countries this week filed legal complaints against Apple, over the company's refusal to let songs purchased from its iTunes Store play on devices other than its iPod players, The New York Times reported.
tags: Law | Music | UK | Europe | iPod | Apple | CE | Sweden | RIAA | iTunes | Regulation | BPI | Norway | Complaints |

Norway Launches Test of Interactive Mobile TV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 2, 2005 - 10:31am.
Oslo - The first trial of interactive mobile TV programming was launched this week in Norway, a collaboration between broadcaster NRK and wireless firm LM Ericsson. The six week trial of the IM-TV service will enable viewers of the Norwegian music video show "Svisj" to interact in real time by voting for upcoming videos, and messaging the show's hosts and other viewers while still watching the program. The cost to interact is about half that of standard text messages. "Our solution makes it possible for viewers to interact with a show that they are watching on their mobile device in a whole new way, creating a much richer TV experience with the help of the mobile channel," said Ericsson Mobility World vice president Kurt Sillen.
tags: Mobile TV | Norway | test |

Norway's Mobile Media Company Buys Telenor Interactive

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2004 - 7:46am.
Oslo -- The Mobile Media Company, a Norway-based provider of wireless games, interactive entertainment services and mobile marketing applications, announced on Friday that it has acquired Maryland-based Telenor Interactive. Mobile Media, which serves customers in more than 30 countries and boasts mobile connectivity to more than 500 million subscribers in Asia, Europe and North America, said the new consolidated company would operate under the Mobile Media brand. "We are delighted to add Telenor Interactive to our portfolio," said Mobile Media CEO Karsten Hauge. "They have become a recognized leader in the provision of reliable and creative mobile services to North American media and entertainment groups, enterprise companies and consumer brands." Financial details for the deal have not been disclosed.
tags: Norway | Mobile Media Company | Telenor Interactive |

Overture To Acquire Web Search Unit Of Norway's FAST

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 25, 2003 - 2:33am.
Pasadena, Calif. -- Overture Services, a provider of pay-for-performance searches for websites, said on Tuesday that it will acquire the Web search unit of Norway-based Fast Search & Transfer (FAST), for $70 million in cash, as well as a performance-based cash incentive payment of up to $30 million over three years. The deal, combined with Overture's previously announced plans to purchase AltaVista, bolsters Overture's position in the commercial search market.
tags: Norway | Web | Overture | FAST |