Gemalto Sues Google, Others Over Android-related Patents

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Paris – Gemalto, a France-based computer security firm, on
Monday filed patent infringement claims in the U.S. against Google (NASD: GOOG), HTC,
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Samsung, alleging Google’s Android operating system violates
Gemalto patents, Agence France-Presse reported.

"This lawsuit is necessary
to protect our investment in innovation," a Gemalto spokesman said in a
statement. "The technologies we develop and associated intellectual
property rights are essential to Gemalto’s future."

The company filed its
complaint in federal court in Texas, where it says the patented technologies in
question were developed at its research facilities there during the 1990s.

A
number of patent infringement claims have been lobbied in recent months over
mobile operating systems, with Apple, Oracle and Microsoft filing suits against
Android phone makers, while Motorola and Nokia have sued Apple, and Microsoft
and Apple have sued Motorola.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2d6h3vh
(AFP)

http://www.gemalto.com

Google Debuts Bollywood Music Search Site in India

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
6

Mountain View, Calif. – Google India has launched a new
Bollywood-focused music search service in beta, according to a post on the
company’s India blog.

The Google Music Search (India) Labs lets users search
across "thousands" of Hindi Bollywood songs by artist, date or movie.

Users may then stream songs they discover for free, thanks to licensing deals
Google (NASD: GOOG) signed with SaReGaMa, In.com and Saavn.com.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2awubkg
(Google India blog)

http://www.google.co.in/music

Facebook Backer Mail.ru to Raise Up to $876M in London IPO

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London – Russian media firm Mail.ru Group, whose investments
include Facebook and Zynga, has announced pricing for its forthcoming IPO on
the London Stock Exchange.

Formerly known as Digital Sky Technologies, Mail.ru
Group will sell 16% of its shares for between $23.70 and $27.70, in an offering
that hopes to raise up to $876 million and would give the company an equity
value of between $4.86 billion and $5.71 billion.

The company owns 2.38% of
Facebook, 1.47% of Zynga and 5.13% of Groupon.

Mail.ru Group said it will use some of the
proceeds from the share offering to acquire an additional 7.5% stake in Russian
social network Vkontakte.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2fxttkq
(Reuters)

http://tinyurl.com/2es57u3
(WSJ)

Mobile App Development Platform PointAbout Gets $1 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington – PointAbout, the creator of a platform allowing
clients to develop their own low-cost mobile apps, said on Monday it has raised
$1 million in a new round of funding from several prominent Silicon Valley
angel investors.

Investors included Mitch Kapor, Bill Lee, Charles River
Ventures, Rich Chen, Brian McClendon, Kima Ventures, Warren Hellman, Ben
Narasin, Pietro Dova, Sean Glass and Transmedia Capital.

The D.C.-based company,
which also operates an office in San Francisco, said it will use the proceeds
to launch several new features within its AppMakr platform by the end of this
year.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3xyg2kf

http://www.appmakr.com

Tudou

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Chinese Video Portal Tudou to Raise Up to $150M in IPO

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beijing – Chinese video portal Tudou has hired Credit Suisse
and Deutsche Bank to manage an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq in
the U.S., in which it hopes to raise up to $150 million, Reuters reported on
Monday, citing sources. The company is looking to list in the first quarter of
2011, and expects to raise between $100 million and $150 million in the
offering.

Launched in 2005, Tudou has to date raised more than $76 million in
venture capital financing, from backers including Singapore’s Temasek, IDG
China, GGV Capital and General Catalyst Partners.

The company accounted for 16%
of China’s online video market during the second quarter, compared to 20% for
rival Youku, according to Analysys International.

Youku is also said to be
pursing an IPO slated for early next year.

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2dguhjo
(Reuters)

http://www.tudou.com

Sex.com Domain Acquired for $13 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London – The Sex.com Internet domain has been sold for $13
million in an auction, after former owner Escom declared bankruptcy earlier
this year, the BBC reports. The buyer is Clover Holdings, a company registered
on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. Escom acquired Sex.com in 2006 in a
transaction valued at $12 million, and had planned to build an online social
network.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/37h7k9q
(BBC)

http://tinyurl.com/2a5sybw
(DMW previous coverage)

Report: Spotify Nearing 650,000 Paid Subscribers

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles – European streaming music service Spotify now
counts nearly 650,000 paying subscribers out of 10 million total users, up from
some 500,000 reported in July, Digital Music News reported, citing sources. Of
the 650,000, 90% are reportedly paying for the top subscription tier price of
10 euros per month, with the remaining 10% paying 5 euro. The company has been
negotiating with the major labels for some time on a prospective U.S. launch.

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/33obq (Digital Music News)

http://www.spotify.com

U.K. Broadcaster BSkyB Debuts Sky Anytime VOD Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London – U.K. broadcaster BSkyB will launch its Sky Anytime+
video-on-demand service next week. The service will be available for free but
only to Sky Broadband customers, and offer thousands of hours of programming.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/29wdjdy

Ustream to Let Users Offer Pay-Per-View Webcasts

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – Ustream, the provider of a live video
streaming service, will soon offer users the ability to offer their own
pay-per-view and ad-free broadcasts. The pay-per-view will let users monetize
their video shows via PayPal payments from Ustream’s 45 million monthly
viewers.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/36jjjnw

http://tinyurl.com/3amdjac
(TechCrunch)

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