Reuters: Judge Says Apple Has "Stumbling Block" in Trademark Suit Against Amazon.com

June 23, 2011

San Jose, Calif. — In a federal court hearing for Apple’s (NASD:AAPL) trademark infringement lawsuit against Amazon.com (NASD:AMZN) Wednesday, District Judge Phyllis Hamilton stated that Apple would face a “stumbling block” when trying to prove users would confuse Apple’s App Store with Amazon’s App Store for Android, a source for Reuters said.

In March, Apple filed a trademark infringement claim against online retail giant Amazon.com, claiming its use of the term “app store” infringes on Apple’s App Store for its iOS devices. The lawsuit says Amazon is creating confusion among consumers and engaging in unfair competition with its “Amazon Appstore Developer Portal” and related uses of the phrase. The suit was filed days after Amazon introduced its Android Appstore, which offers nearly 3,800 apps for mobile devices running Google’s Android operating system.

Apple has filed to register “app store” as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but is facing opposition from Microsoft (NASD:MSFT), which has opposed the registration.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/6gthp4x (Reuters)

Universal Motown Launches Marvin Gaye "What's Going On" Facebook Campaign

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

Palo Alto, Calif. — The late Marvin Gaye’s legacy still lives on — even through Facebook.

Universal Motown, the Prince of Soul’s record label, has successfully launched a Facebook campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his 11th studio album, “What’s Going On.”

The campaign, which asks fans to post photos, stories and images about “What’s going on” in the world, has been considered a success — increasing their fan-base by 200 percent from fewer than 300,000 to 900,000 in less than a week.

Marvin Gaye recently appeared as a Twitter trend as a result of Kanye West and Big Sean’s “Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay” recent hit song.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/6e4m3np (Mashable)

http://tinyurl.com/62uw6d8 (Marvin Gaye Facebook Fan Page)

Usabilla Raises $1M To Develop User Feedback Tools

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

Amsterdam, N.L. — Usabilla, a company that produces website usability tools, said on Wednesday that it has raised $1 million in its new round of funding.

Company Boralis and five undisclosed investors in the United States and Europe participated in the funding round. Usabilla helps businesses by creating tools that allow them to collect data and visual feedback about their customers.

Partnering with Disney, Electronic Arts and Levi, Usabilla plans on using the new funding to expand their business by making customer feedback tools, and add new features for mobile phones, tablets and television.

The company was founded in 2009 and has 12 employees.

Related Links:

http://tinyurl.com/65tk82r (Venture Beat)

http://tinyurl.com/cthd39 (Usabilla)

Harry Potter Goes Digital: Launching Social Site and e-Books

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

San Francisco, Calif. — Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling announced Thursday that her popular series of fantasy novels will soon be available as e-books through a new online store and social networking site, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Rowling’s titles will be included in a new online website entitled, Pottermore.com — also unveiled today — where loyal fans of the internationally acclaimed series and box-office hit can interact with one another, cast spells, mix potions and participate in a number of other features.

“I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation,” Rowling said in a statement today. “Just as I have contributed to the website, everyone else will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment — Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site.”

The Harry Potter series has sold over 450 million books worldwide since the first novel was published in 1997. Although pricing has not been determined for the e-Books, people interested in joining Pottermore can register after July 31.

The official launch of the online store and website will happen in October.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6g9kthx (Wall Street Journal)

http://tinyurl.com/6d7j6pl (CNET)

http://www.pottermore.com/ (Pottermore)

BIA/Kelsey Predicts Mobile Ad Spending to Quadruple to $4 Billion By 2015

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

Arlington, Va. — Mobile ad spending for smartphones could quadruple over the next four years to $4 billion, according to a new report by BIA/Kelsey, a media advisory and research firm.

The a big reason for growth is what BIA/Kelsey sees as a significant increase in mobile local advertising which targets users in specific locations or contains location-specific calls to action. The firm points out that in 2010 local ad spending accounted for $404 million and is expected to grow to 2.8 billion by 2015, an increase from 51 percent to 70 percent of overall U.S. mobile ad spending.

“Revenues will grow from not only ad volume, but also premiums placed on location-targeted ads,” said BIA/Kelsey senior analyst Michael Boland. “These premiums result from higher performance for locally targeted mobile ads when compared with non-local ads, due to higher relevance, immediacy and consumer buying intent, all of which are more prevalent in mobile than many other print and digital media.”

With the predicted increase of mobile ad spending, location awareness technology is also expected to grow, bringing in smaller businesses who may invest in the improved response to location-driven ads.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/62aqlhf (BIA/Kelsey)

http://tinyurl.com/64bmpys (Washington Business Journal)

Turntable.fm Hits 140K Users in First Month

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

New York — Turntable.fm, a startup online radio company, has gained over 140,000 users since launching its service to the public earlier this month.

The music service, which requires a personal invitation to gain access, allows its users to act as animated DJs by playing music in a room with their friends while mixing artists they enjoy. According to some, the new service could pose a threat to Pandora Radio; Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research argues that Turntable.fm is more “social” than Pandora.

“Turntable.FM is actually so social, that you cannot even listen to full-songs if you are alone in a room – you have to be a part of a listening room with at least one other person and cannot enter the Turntable site unless you have at least one Facebook friend who has joined Turntable,” said Greenfield.

Users can choose to either upload their own songs or listen to music available in Turntable.fm’s music library. The only way to sign up for the service is through Facebook ID verification.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/5uv6wru (Barron’s)

http://tinyurl.com/6enm5de (Venture Beat)

http://tinyurl.com/5ubgdly (Forbes)

http://tinyurl.com/3uswhau (Turntable.fm)

PopCap Games Rumored to be Acquired by EA for $1 Billion

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

Seattle, Wash. — PopCap Games, a casual games company famous for games such as “Bejeweled,” “Zuma” and “Peggie,” is rumored to be in acquisition discussions with several companies — including Electronic Arts, TechCrunch reported, citing multiple sources.

PopCap, which makes between $100 and $150 million a year according to TechCrunch, is rumored to have an offer of over $1 billion, with Electronic Arts, Zynga and a company in Asia being possible buyers. TechCrunch posted an update today stating that multiple sources have said that the buyer is Electronic Arts.

The company raised $22.5 million in Oct. 2009, and was rumored to be exploring an IPO last year. Neither companies have confirmed these rumors to be true.

Related Links:
http://www.popcap.com

http://tinyurl.com/6a6s2rz (TechCrunch)

http://tinyurl.com/5st6pme (PC World)

CNN Report: An Analyst’s Vision for the Apple-Branded TV Set

digitalmediawi

June 23, 2011

There has been a lot of speculation lately about Apple’s (NASD:AAPL) plans to enter the television display market with an Apple-branded TV set (as distinguished from the Apple TV set top box).

On Wednesday, DailyTech cited a former Apple executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity as saying that Apple plans to “blow Netflix and all those other guys away” by bundling Apple TV + iTunes inside physical television sets.

Today CNN reported on the vision of Piper Jaffray’s senior Apple analyst Gene Munster who has long championed the idea of an Apple-branded TV set. In the report, CNN refers to Munster’s 2009 roadmap and a recent note to clients issued early Thursday to connect the dots pointing to the likely launch of an Apple-branded TV set in late 2012. According to Munster as reported by CNN, there are four key developments leading to this conclusion: Apple’s launch of iCloud, which could be expanded to add movies, video and television content, recent applications with the US Patent & Trademark Office relating to television-specific technology, success with the App Store, which suggests that developers and consumers have an appetite for new Apple television apps, and Munster’s reference to a likely component deal that he believes could secure up to 50″ LCD displays.

Not everyone agrees, however, on the question of whether, when and how Apple might enter the television set market. TechCrunch reporter MG Siegler wrote an interesting analysis on this on Tuesday, questioning TechDaily’s “notion that Apple would partner with an OEM to make the television sets”, while concluding that Apple will eventually get into the television set business.

Winklevoss Twins Drop Appeal in Facebook Lawsuit

Lindsey Compton

June 23, 2011

New York — Olympic rowing twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have decided to drop their appeal to the Supreme Court of a federal court ruling upholding their $65 million settlement with Facebook Inc and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, after “careful consideration,” said the twins Wednesday.

Cameron and Tyler, who were portrayed in the 2010 film, “The Social Network,” entered into a settlement agreement with Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg in 2008. However, they later challenged the settlement on the grounds that Facebook had withheld information from them that had they known would have caused them to seek a higher settlement amount. A federal court in San Francisco upheld the settlement on April 11 calling it “quite favorable.”

The twins, along with Divya Narendra, another Harvard student who allegedly worked with the twins and Zuckerberg on Facebook’s development, decided in a filing Wednesday that they would not seek a Supreme Court review.

“We’ve considered this case closed for a long time, and we’re pleased to see the other party now agrees,” said Facebook in a statement.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/66y7vyd (Reuters)

City of Heroes Transitioning to Free To Play Later This Year

Lindsey Compton

June 22, 2011

Seoul, Korea — NCSoft, a South Korean-based online game company, announced on Wednesday that their “City of Heroes” game will be joining the list of free to play MMO’s later this year.

Being renamed “City of Heroes Freedom,” the game promises to “redefine City of Heroes based on the cornerstones of content, rewards and choice,” GamePro reported.

The game will run similarly to how its predecessor, Champions Online, operates: offering current subscribers VIP membership with full access to all game content as well as a monthly stipend of “Paragon Points” for microtransactions.

Related Links:
http://us.ncsoft.com/en/
http://tinyurl.com/649wdbm (Game Pro)