WSJ: DOJ Investigating MPEG LA Over Google Codec Dispute
Washington – The U.S. Justice Department and California Attorney General
are investigating whether patent licensing group MPEG LA, which oversees the
H.264 video codec, is unfairly stifling Google’s (NASD: GOOG) rival VP8 codec and WebM
platform, The Wall Street Journal reported. After Google announced it would
make VP8 and WebM royalty-free last year, MPEG LA took steps to examine whether
VP8 utilizes any of its member companies’ own patents.
"We do not believe
VP8 is patent-free," MPEG LA told CNET.
"Time and again MPEG LA’s
model has been tested not just in the marketplace, but in the courts by those
seeking any possible way to avoid their intellectual property obligations or
other axes to grind, and each time, MPEG LA has prevailed," the
organization said.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4f2dnn4
(WSJ)
Report: AOL to Acquire Hyperlocal News Site Outside.in
New York – AOL (NYSE: AOL) is acquiring Outside.in, an aggregator of
hyperlocal news and information, Business Insider reported, pegging the
purchase price at under $10 million.
Founded in 2006, New York-based Outside.in
has a presence in some 60,000 U.S. neighborhoods.
The service will be
integrated with AOL’s own hyperlocal Patch.com network of blogs.
Outside.in has
raised over $14 million in venture capital financing, from investors such as Union
Square Ventures, Village Ventures, New York City Investment Fund and Milestone
Venture Partners.
Related Links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/outside-in-2011-3
CBS Acquires Clicker, Names CEO Head of CBS Interactive
New York – CBS (NYSE: CBS) announced on Friday that it has acquired
Clicker Media, an online listings guide of legal video available on the Web.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company also said it has
named Clicker co-founder and CEO Jim Lanzone as president of CBS Interactive.
Launched in 2009, Clicker indexes more than 1 million on TV shows, movies and
videos from free and paid services.
Lanzone, who was also previously CEO of
Ask.com, succeeds Neil Ashe, who has served as president of CBS Interactive since
the company acquired CNET in 2008.
"Jim is a dynamic, creative executive
who knows the interactive space and its key players," said CBS chief
executive Les Moonves.
"I’m confident that with Jim at the helm, we will
continue to expand our digital footprint, and capitalize on our scale in this
fast-growing marketplace."
Clicker has raised $19 million in funding to
date, from backers including Jafco Ventures, Benchmark Capital and Redpoint
Ventures.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4aft7c7
Opinionaided Lands $1 Million for Mobile Q&A Service
New York – Opinionaided, the provider of a mobile
question-and-answers service, has raised $1 million in seed financing from
General Catalyst Partners, SoftBank Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
New
York-based Opinionaided launched its service for Apple’s iOS devices last
summer, offering a mobile social network of users posing and answering each
others’ questions.
The company, which was incubated by Kurani Interactive,
plans to bring its service to other mobile platforms.
Related Links:
http://opinionaided.com
NBCU Names Nicholas Lehman President of Digital Networks
New York – NBC Universal has named Nicholas Lehman,
previously CEO of Plum TV, to the newly-created position of president of
digital for its digital networks and integrated media division, PaidContent
reports. In the role, Lehman will oversee digital properties including iVillage
and Daily Candy, the websites for Bravo, Oxygen, Style and Telemundo, and
digital advertising for broadcast and cable channels.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4cn37ob
(PaidContent)
Yobongo Debuts Mobile Chat Room Application
Austin, Texas – Yobongo on Thursday launched its mobile chat
room application for users in San Francisco, New York and Austin, where it is
launching its service officially at the South by Southwest conference and
festival. The service automatically connects strangers based on their
interests, which are culled as Yobongo monitors the contents of users’ chats.
Users can post messages to a larger mobile chat room, or engage in private
conversations with other users.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4nux7e6
(Mashable)
HBO Go Adds 1,400 More TV Episodes, Movie Titles
New York – Time Warner’s
(NYSE: TWX)
HBO cable network said it has added
more than 1,400 additional TV and movie titles to HBO Go, its free online
streaming service for subscribers. The service now offers all episodes of
"The Sopranos," "Sex and the City," "True Blood"
and other series, as well as a selection of movies licensed by HBO. HBO Go is
currently available to HBO subscribers on Comcast Xfinity TV, Verizon FiOS, Cox
and AT&T U-Verse.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4agavol
NCAA March Madness on Demand App Coming to iPad
Atlanta – The NCAA March Madness on Demand service from
Turner Sports, CBS Sports and the NCAA will be available on Apple’s iPad for
the first time this year, the companies said Thursday. Live video streaming of
every game will be available on the iPad, as well as via an iPhone app, and
online from various websites.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4dlrf3y
