Music Trade Groups Ask Google for Piracy Details of Verizon Pact

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Mountain View, Calif. – Noting that "the current legal
and regulatory regime is not working for America’s creators," thirteen trade
groups representing many factions of the music industry have sent an open
letter to Google (NASD:  GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt, seeking more information about the company’s
recent joint proposal with Verizon (NYSE:  VZ) regarding an open Internet.

"The music
community we represent believes it is vital that any Internet policy initiative
permit and encourage ISPs and other intermediaries to take measures to deter
unlawful activity such as copyright infringement and child pornography,"
reads the letter from groups including the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA); performing rights organizations BMI, ASCAP and SESAC; the
National Music Publishers Association (NMPA); American Association of
Independent Music (A2IM); and industry guild the American Federation of
Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

"We are deeply interested in the
details of your proposal as they may relate to the protection of content and to
making sure that the distinction between lawful and unlawful activity has
operational meaning," the letter continues.

 

Related Links:
http://riaa.com/blog.php?content_selector=Google_Mail

Quattro Wireless

By
Mark Hefflinger
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Apple to Shutter Mobile Ad Network Quattro, Focus on iAd

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple (NASD:  AAPL) plans to shutter mobile ad network
Quattro Wireless, which it acquired for $275 million last year, in order to
focus squarely on its own recently introduced iAd format. "We believe iAd
is the best mobile ad network in the world, and starting next month we’re going
to focus all of our resources on the iAd advertising platform," Apple
writes in a note on QuattroWireless.com.

"We are no longer accepting new
campaigns for the Quattro Wireless Network, and we will soon begin winding down
existing campaigns.

"As of September 30, we will support ads exclusively for the
iAd Network."

Business Insider notes the move could be a boon to mobile ad
networks like AdMob, Millennial Media and JumpTap — for advertisers not
interested in the iAd format.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/24m7qw9
(Business Insider)

http://www.quattrowireless.com

Court: Secret Recordings Not Illegal if No Criminal Intent Exists

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – Secretly recording a conversation doesn’t violate
the federal Wiretap Act if the recorder has no criminal intent in making the
recording, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

The son of a woman dying
of cancer secretly recorded a conversation the family had with her about her
will using his iPhone’s Recorder application.

While she died without creating a
will, the son then used the recording of the family conversation to challenge
his father’s claim to the estate.

The father sued in federal court in
Connecticut, claiming his son violated the Wiretap Act by recording the
conversation.

"Merely intending to record the plaintiff is not
enough," the 2nd Circuit wrote in its decision.

"If, at the moment he
hits ‘record,’ the offender does not intend to use the recording for criminal
or tortious purposes, there is no violation."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2bbnmyw
(Wired.com)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/08/17/29669.htm

Gannett to Launch More Than 100 HighSchoolSports.net Microsites

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

McLean, Va. – Gannett (NYSE: GCI), the publisher of USA Today, said its
HighSchoolSports.net business plans to launch more than 100 hyperlocal
"microsites."

The rollout will begin later this month in 38 markets,
including D.C., Atlanta and Denver, with other markets to follow by the end of
this year.

The microsites will be offshoots of local Gannett-owned media sites,
enhanced with HighSchoolSports.net content.

"This unlocks the full value
of our prep sports content for our readers and for sports marketers, including
national marketers, who are increasingly looking to reach 12- to 17-year-old
athletes and their families at the local and regional level," said Peter
Lundquist, the vice president and general manager of Gannett High School
Sports.

 

Related Links:
http://www.gannett.com/news/pressrelease/2010/pr081810.htm

http://www.highschoolsports.net

Clearspring To "Vigorously Defend" Against Web Tracking Suit

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

McLean, Va. – Clearspring, the developer of the AddThis
sharing platform and online widgets, said that it plans to "vigorously
defend" itself against a federal class action lawsuit claiming that
several major websites illegally tracked the surfing activities of site
visitors through Flash cookies developed by the firm.

"We have made an
initial review of the lawsuit and found it to be factually inaccurate with
respect to the company’s technologies and practices," wrote Clearspring
CEO Hooman Radfar on the company’s blog.

"Most importantly, Clearspring
does not and never did collect, store, or sell personally identifiable
information."

The suit was filed last week against Clearspring and several
large media firms, including Disney, Warner Bros. and Demand Media.

The
complaint alleges the defendants knew that Clearspring was illegally tracking
the movements of visitors well beyond their own sites, with the information
then sold to third parties.

"The Company used Adobe Flash local storage in
a manner consistent with other leading Flash analytics providers to deliver
standard web analytics to publishers," wrote Radfar.

 

Related Links:
http://www.clearspring.com/blog/2010/08/17/the-way-we-used-flash

http://tinyurl.com/235ooqz
(PDF of complaint)

http://tinyurl.com/2389l2p
(DMW previous coverage)

Millennial Media

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

WSJ: RIM in Talks to Buy Mobile Ad Network Millennial Media

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Baltimore – BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion
(RIM) (NASD:  RIMM) has been in discussions to acquire Baltimore-based mobile ad network
Millennial Media, though the talks have hit a snag over the company’s value,
The Wall Street Journal reported.

Millennial reportedly has been seeking
$400-$500 million, based on the recent acquisition prices of rivals AdMob and
Quattro Wireless, though RIM so far has been unwilling to pay that much,
according to people familiar with the matter.

Millennial Media, which claims
the largest mobile ad network in the U.S., has raised $37 million in venture
capital since its inception in 2006.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/24jmube
(WSJ)

http://www.millennialmedia.com

Report: U.S. Search Market Steady in July; Google Nabs 71.4%

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – Google (NASD: GOOG) accounted for 71.43% of all U.S. searches
in July, a month during which the major search providers mostly held steady in
their respective market shares, according to a report from Experian Hitwise.

Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), which this week began transitioning its search results to Microsoft’s (NASD: MSFT)
Bing, attracted 14.43% of U.S. search traffic in July, followed by Bing itself
with 9.86%.

IAC’s (NASD: IACI) Ask.com accounted for 2.32% of searches, up 6% from the 2.19%
it held in June.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/277kvgj

Facebook Places

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0
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