Los Angeles - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week expanded the ordinance that allows for the county to shutter a property that becomes a "public nuisance," such as in gang or drug-related instances, to include properties used to illegally manufacture and sell recordings and audiovisual works. "This ordinance is an important milestone in our efforts to curb piracy in Los Angeles," said Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). "In its approval of this ordinance, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have officially recognized that piracy isn't just an industry problem, but one that has a significant impact on the local economy as well."

New York - Take Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) 2K Games label announced on Friday that it has signed a deal with Universal Pictures to develop a movie based on its "BioShock" game, to be directed and produced by Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean"). Financial terms of the deal, or a timeline for the project, were not disclosed.

Richmond, Va. - One month after revealing an unsolicited $1 billion takeover bid from Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), consumer electronics retailer Circuit City (NYSE: CC) said on Friday that it will open its books to the video rental giant in preparation for a potential acquisition.

New York - Marvel Entertainment said on Thursday that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with video game developer THQ (NASD: THQI), which will create video games based on the Marvel's kid-friendly Super Hero Squad franchise. The initial game is scheduled for release in the fall of 2009. Separately, THQ said it signed a deal with DreamWorks Animation to publish games based on the studio's 2010 fall animated feature film, currently under the working title "Master Mind." The film is billed as a satirical send-up of the superhero genre.

Washington - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved the PRO-IP Act, a bill pushed for by Hollywood studios that would beef up law enforcement dedicated to protecting intellectual property, as well as increase penalties for piracy. "We applaud the members of the House of Representatives for passing the PRO-IP Act, H.R. 4279," said Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) president Dan Glickman. "It is a comprehensive, bipartisan measure that will strengthen our nation's economy and generate more jobs for American workers by bolstering protections for intellectual property."

Los Angeles - TorrentSpy, a BitTorrent tracker site that lost a copyright infringement suit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) last year, has been ordered by a federal judge to pay a massive $110 million in damages. "This substantial money judgment sends a strong message about the illegality of these sites," said Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the MPAA. "The demise of TorrentSpy is a clear victory for the studios and demonstrates that such pirate sites will not be allowed to continue to operate without facing relentless litigation by copyright holders."

New York - The winners of this year's Webby Awards were announced on Tuesday, with special achievement honors going to TV host Stephen Colbert, film director Michel Gondry and musical artist will.i.am. Colbert was named the Webby Person of the Year for the innovative ways he uses the Internet to interact with fans of his show, while Gondry was recognized in part for inspiring user-generated content with his new film, "Be Kind Rewind," and will.i.am for the songs and Internet videos he produced for Barack Obama.

Waltham, Mass. - Lycos on Monday added online video-on-demand rentals to its Lycos Cinema service, which previously offered ad-supported viewing. The content available through the service will also feature the company's "Watch & Interact" technology, which lets multiple users to view the same video while chatting with one another in real-time. Lycos partnered with IndependentFeatures.com, which will offer films screening at the Independent Features Film Festival in July exclusively on Lycos Cinema.

New York - New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Monday introduced new legislation, endorsed by leaders of the New York State Senate and Assembly, that would increase penalties on those caught trying to record films in movie theaters for piracy purposes.

Portland, Ore. - The top-grossing films of 2006-2007 in the U.S., when including box office sales, DVD and VHS sales and rental estimates, and video-on-demand viewing, were "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Disney), "Transformers" (Paramount) and "Cars" (Disney), according to data compiled by Rentrak. The only R-rated film to crack the top 20 was Warner Bros.' "300," while the majority were either action or family films rated PG-13. Rentak tracks data from 51 million set-top boxes, more than 10,000 retail and 12,000 home video locations, and 35,000 movie screens across North America and other countries around the world.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Thursday announced that new release movies from the major Hollywood studios will now be made available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD releases, and will be priced at $14.99. Participating studios include 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS), The Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS), Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount Pictures (NYSE: VIA), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (NYSE: GE), Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE: SNE), Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios.

Boston - Paid Inc., a provider of websites and fan club services for celebrities and organizations, announced on Tuesday that it has signed a new $2.5 million revolving credit line with Lewis Asset Management.

New York - Video rental giant Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) is in negotiations toward taking a stake in the new pay-TV movie channel joint venture announced by Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and several movie studios last week, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal. Under the prospective deal, Blockbuster -- which used to be owned by Viacom -- would invest in the joint venture and in return get digital rights to the new channel's programming.

Dallas - Video rental giant Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) announced on Monday that it has begun selling video games, game consoles and accessories at all of its U.S. corporate-owned stores, as part of the company's broader plan to significantly expand its game business.

San Mateo, Calif. - Movie download service Jaman.com on Friday announced a new licensing deal with Arts Alliance America, an independent film and DVD distributor. Titles that will be offered on Jaman through the deal will include "Super Size Me," "Conversations with Other Women," "Tully" and "Never Forever."

Los Angeles - The Pirate Bay, the notorious Sweden-based BitTorrent tracker site, has announced that it now serves more than 12 million peers, TorrentFreak reports. Furthermore, the site said that the ratio of "seeders," or those who allow uploads from their computers, to "leechers," who only download and do not share their bandwidth, is now 50/50. The ratio climbed from 20% seeders in 2004, to 35% in 2006 and 40% in 2007.

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ (NASD: THQI) said on Thursday that it is developing "Journey to the Center of the Earth" for the Nintendo DS, based on the forthcoming digital 3D film from New Line Cinema. The game is slated for release in July alongside the film, which will figure as the first digital 3D live-action movie.

White Plains, N.Y. - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Thursday announced a promotional partnership with filmmaker Spike Lee, who will "direct" a film that utilizes user-submitted camera phone footage and other content.

Los Angeles - GetBack Media has launched its social network targeted at users over the age of 35, featuring partnerships with a range of firms to provide music and video content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The company was founded by a team that includes the principals of DVD distributor Shout Factory, and is headed by president Chris Dominguez, a former executive at MTV Networks and iFilm. The company partnered with Universal Music to sell ads on the site and split revenues, and will feature music videos from the label along with Warner Music Group. GetBack also features TV content from Hulu, movie trailers from ScreenPlay, and song samples from All Media Guide.