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Warner Adding Bonus "Pop-Up" Content to VOD Movies

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2005 - 5:08am.
Burbank, Calif. - Warner Home Video announced on Wednesday that it will begin adding exclusive extra content to movies it distributes to the video-on-demand services offered by cable and satellite TV firms. The "Movies That Pop" content will include information about the actors, behind-the-scenes production details, and movie trivia, which will appear in "pop-up" windows on the screen. Up to 15 minutes of footage from between three and five scenes will be added at the end of each feature. The first Warner video-on-demand titles to feature the pop-up bonus content will be "Batman Begins" (Dec. 3) and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (Dec. 23).
tags: Warner | Pop-Up | VOD Movies |

Court Says WhenU Can Serve Pop-Up Ads on Competitors' Websites

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 29, 2005 - 7:16am.
New York -- A federal appeals court has ruled that Internet adware developer WhenU did not violate companies' trademarks when using them to serve pop-up ads for their competitors. WhenU's software is often bundled with file-sharing programs or other applications, and once installed then monitors Web surfing and overlays its clients' ads when users visit a competitor's site. Contact lens retailer 1-800-Contacts sued WhenU for trademark violations in 2002; when a lower court sided with 1-800-Contacts, WhenU appealed the ruling, which was overturned on Monday by the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals. "A trademark owner is not entitled to control your desktop just because you happen to be visiting its website," said Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed an amicus brief on behalf of WhenU in the case. "This decision is good news for consumers who want the freedom to install tools that help them customize their web-surfing."
tags: Law | Websites | Pop-Up | Competitors |

German Court Rules Against Unauthorized Pop-Up Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:07am.
Cologne, Germany -- The German unit of car rental firm Hertz announced that it has won an injunction against Claira (formerly known as Gator) that will prevent the company from launching its pop-up ads for Hertz competitors on top of Hertz's own website, CNET News.com reported. Claria's software is installed alongside other programs as a way to provide those programs for free -- such as its bundling with Kazaa's file-sharing software. Hertz complained that those who have downloaded the software see unauthorized pop-up ads for Hertz competitors when users visit its German site. The Court of First Instance in Cologne ruled that Claria violated German unfair competition laws, and will face penalties of up to $302,325, or six months in jail, for each future violation of the injunction.
tags: Law | German | Pop-Up | Unauthorized |

Microsoft to Ban Pop-Up Ads on Global Websites by Summer

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2004 - 8:29am.
Brussels -- According to news media, U.S. software giant Microsoft has decided to phase out pop-up ads on most of its MSN websites worldwide by this summer. The decision follows a survey conducted by Microsoft that found that most consumers dislike pop-up ads. Microsoft said the ban would first go into effect for the Nordic region, Belgium and the U.K. and then extend to other European countries soon thereafter. A company spokesman said local countries would "make the change at the best time to suit their local market needs and to meet pre-existing arrangements with MSN customers".
tags: Microsoft | Websites | Global | Pop-Up | Summer |

Pop-Up Ad Firm Targeted by FTC Wins Right to Resume Sending Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 16, 2003 - 5:00am.
Baltimore, Md. -- A software company ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to halt distribution of its pop-up ads and accompanying pop-up ad-blocking software offers has won a small court victory against the FTC, according to published reports. The FTC said San Diego-based D Squared Solutions' pop-up ads were "nothing more than a high-tech version of a classic scam" when it won a preliminary injunction against the company -- an injunction which a federal judge on Monday refused to extend in length. "It's not clear to me ... if there's substantial injury to consumers," said Judge Andre Davis. The decision from the U.S. District Court in Maryland effectively means that D Squared may resume distributing its pop-up ads until a full trial on the matter begins on March 8, 2004.
tags: FTC | Pop-Up | Resume | Sending Ads |

Pop-Up Ad Firm Challenges FTC Shutdown Order

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 10, 2003 - 6:10am.
Washington -- A small company that used a feature in Microsoft's Messenger software to serve frequent pop-up ads -- which ironically often touted pop-up ad blocking software -- is challenging an enforcement lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) aimed at shutting down the service, the Associated Press reported. San Diego-based D Squared Solutions, which consists of two 20-year-old college students, are arguing that the FTC order is a protected free speech issue, saying the ads are "no more harmful than roadway speed bumps or television commercials." In its lawsuit, the FTC said D Squared's ads are "nothing more than a high-tech version of a classic scam. The defendants created the problem that they proposed to solve -- for a fee. Their pop-up spam wasted computer users' time and caused them needless frustration," said Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. D Squared is expected in court next week to argue for a reversal of the FTC's order to prevent the company from serving its pop-up ads.
tags: FTC | Pop-Up | Challenges |

FTC Gets Court to Stop Software Firm's Pop-Up Ad Scam

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 7, 2003 - 8:05am.
Washington -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal court has granted its request for a temporary restraining order against D Squared, a San Diego-based firm that both sends "pop-up" online ads that exploit a flaw in Microsoft's Messenger software -- and sells software that blocks such ads from users' computers. The FTC said that D Squared repeatedly sent messages to consumers using a feature of Windows that normally would be used by systems administrators to post notices that look like online pop-up ads to PCs on a network. D Squared's ads, however, which could be delivered even when a user wasn't online, instructed consumers to visit websites that said that the barrage of pop-ups could be stopped by purchasing its software. According to the FTC, consumers can stop the pop-ups by changing the default setting on their Windows operating system. "The defendants created the problem that they proposed to solve -- for a fee. Their pop-up spam wasted computer users' time and caused them needless frustration," said Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
tags: Law | FTC | Software | Pop-Up |

Pop-Up Ad King, Wireless Camera Seller X10 Files for Bankruptcy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 23, 2003 - 10:24am.
San Francisco -- X10 Wireless Technology, the seller of miniature wireless video cameras that launched one of the most massive pop-up ad campaigns ever on the Internet, has filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. CNET News.com reported that X10 this week was ordered to pay $4.3 million in damages to a company, Advertisement Banners.com, which sued X10 for using its technology that serves "pop-under" ads without authorization. Kent, Wash.-based X10 said its assets were between $1 million and $10 million, and that it owed creditors between $10 million and $50 million.
tags: Pop-Up | Bankruptcy | King | Wireless Camera | X10 |

Nielsen/NetRatings: Pop-Up Ads Growing in Frequency

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 14, 2003 - 5:13am.
Milpitas, Calif. -- The number of pop-up advertisements has grown sharply of late, but still comprises a small percentage of total internet ad impressions, according to Milpitas, Calif.-based Nielsen/NetRatings, a provider of Internet audience measurement services. Pop-ups comprised just 3.5 percent of total online ad impressions last year, up from 1.9 percent in 2001. Led by a plethora of online casino advertisers, the entertainment industry used the most pop-ups as a percentage of total industry impressions in the fourth quarter. http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/
tags: Nielsen | Pop-Up | Grows | NetRatings |

Publishers Settle Suit Against Pop-Up Software Maker Gator

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 7, 2003 - 3:48am.
Alexandria, Va. -- Some of the nation's largest online news publishers, including The Washington Post, have settled their case against California-based Gator Corp., a company they sued in June over third-party pop-up ads that were appearing on their sites without authorization, the Associated Press reported on Friday. The publishers, including The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, had recently won a preliminary injunction in Alexandria prohibiting Gator from continuing to deliver the ads to the newspapers' web sites. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Gator makes advertising software that is sometimes bundled together with free software from other companies. It runs in the background and delivers advertisements.
tags: Software | Publishers | Pop-Up | Gator |