Court Order Temporarily Shutters TV Streaming Site FilmOn.com
Los Angeles – A federal court has issued a temporary
restraining order shutting down FilmOn.com, a site offering free streams of
network television programming. The four major broadcast networks — ABC (NYSE: DIS), CBS (NYSE: CBS),
Fox (NYSE: NWS) and NBC (NYSE: GE) — sued FilmOn.com for copyright infringement, arguing the service
was making unauthorized online retransmissions of their broadcasts. "We
respect the Court’s decision in this matter and have temporarily ceased
retransmission of free network television on FilmOn," the company said in
a statement, adding that 30 million users had used its service in the few weeks
it has been available.
FilmOn legal counsel Scott Zarin notes that the court
"is providing FilmOn with an opportunity to elaborate upon its ‘cable
system’ argument more thoroughly in a hearing on the Networks’ request for a
preliminary injunction," referring to the company’s argument that it is
exempt from copyright infringement liability because it should be considered a
cable system.
"We do expect to bring the major networks back to our lineup
in the near future, all in a legitimate and collaborative business model,"
FilmOn’s statement continues.
"We have already begun very positive
discussions with TV networks affiliates and other content owners to provide our
delivery service and measurement analytics to stream their live content
online."
The court-ordered shutdown of FilmOn may not bode well for Ivi, a
similar TV streaming service launched recently that has also been sued for
copyright infringement by the broadcast networks.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2cwhept
Digital 3D Cinema Firm RealD Files for Secondary Offering
Los Angeles – RealD (NYSE: RLD), the developer of digital cinema 3D
projection systems, announced on Tuesday that it has filed with the SEC for a
secondary offering of 7.8 million shares, valued at about $242 million.
All
shares are being sold by existing stockholders of the company.
Los
Angeles-based RealD raised about $200 million in its initial public offering
(IPO) of shares in July.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/29xyw6h
http://tinyurl.com/2csr8nv (DMW previous coverage)
Online Ad 'Retargeting' Firm myThings Secures $6 Million
London – myThings, a developer of personalized advertising
retargeting technology, said on Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in a
third round of venture capital funding, led by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Venture
unit.
Accel Partners, Carmel Ventures, Dot Corp. and GP Bullhound also
participated in the investment round.
Founded in 2005, London-based myThings’ "retargeting"
technology retargets ads to browsers of a retailer’s website as they surf other
sites.
Customers include Coremetrics, XiTI, Venda and Affiliate Window.
The
company will use the new funds to scale its sales, marketing and research and
development operations throughout Europe.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2bfper5
Director Oliver Stone Backs Online Video Platform Vzaar
London – Vzaar, the provider of an online video publishing
platform, has raised an undisclosed amount of new funding from previous backer
Sophrosyne Ventures, and Hollywood director Oliver Stone.
Founded in 2007, U.K.-based
Vzaar offers a range of video hosting and distribution services.
"vzaar is
one of those lightning bolts that hit me right between the eyes," said
Oliver Stone.
"It’s a new video platform, the likes of which you have
probably never seen before. It’s for professionals in large corporations but
also small businesses. It’s a new way to present original ideas or market
concepts. It’s the easiest to use — and for me — the first choice in
professional video."
Related Links:
http://vzaar.com/blog/2010/11/23/oliver-stone-story/
http://tinyurl.com/2fclzn8
(TechCrunch)
Qype Gets $8.9M for User-Submitted Local Reviews in Europe
London – Qype, a service that lets users submit reviews of
local restaurants and other businesses in Europe, has raised $8.9 million in
its second round of venture capital financing, led by Vodafone Ventures.
Previous backers Advent Venture Partners, Partech International and Wellington
Partners also participated in the investment round, which the company will use
to develop its mobile business.
Launched in 2006, Qype counts 17 million unique
monthly visitors to its site, which covers more than 150,000 European towns and
cities.
The company said nearly one million users have downloaded its mobile
application to date.
Related Links:
http://en.press.qype.com/?p=308
Gotuit Media Acquired by Video Metadata Firm Digitalsmiths
Woburn, Mass. – Gotuit Media, a provider of video
presentation, discovery, and advertising technology, has been acquired by
Digitalsmiths, a provider of video metadata technology for production studios,
broadcasters, distributors and publishers.
North Carolina-based Digitalsmiths
said as a result of the acquisition it now controls the deepest intellectual
property portfolio in the video metadata space, consisting of more than 35
patents covering core metadata creation, aggregation and application.
Terms of
the deal between the two privately held firms were not disclosed.
Related Links:
http://www.digitalsmiths.com
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