Photographers File Copyright Claims Over Google Book Search
Philadelphia
– A consortium of photographers’ groups on Wednesday filed a class action
copyright infringement lawsuit against Google, over the proposed inclusion of
copyrighted images found in the millions of books being scanned into its Book
Search project. The photographers said they opted to file suit separately, after
the court overseeing the current hotly-contested $125 million settlement between
Google and authors over Book Search denied their request to join that lawsuit.
They say their lawsuit also "includes Google’s other systematic and pervasive
infringements of the rights of photographers, illustrators and other visual
artists," according to a press release from the American Society of Media
Photographers (ASMP).
Other parties to the suit include the Graphic Artists
Guild; the Picture Archive Council of America; the North American Nature
Photography Association; Professional Photographers of America; photographers Leif
Skoogfors, Al Satterwhite, Morton Beebe, Ed Kashi; and illustrators John
Schmelzer and Simms Taback.
"We are seeking justice and fair compensation
for visual artists whose work appears in the twelve million books and other
publications Google has illegally scanned to date," said Victor Perlman,
general counsel for the ASMP.
Related Links:
http://asmp.org/articles/press-release-10-04-07.html
http://snipurl.com/vb7jg
(Financial Times)
WSJ: Antitrust Regulators May Challenge Google's AdMob Deal
Washington – Antitrust regulators at the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) "appear to be laying the groundwork" for a challenge
to Google’s (NASD: GOOG) proposed acquisition of mobile ad firm AdMob, The Wall Street
Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. As can be customary
in such reviews, the FTC has reportedly assembled an internal litigation team
to handle a potential legal challenge to the deal; previous media reports
stated that the agency has been posing questions to Google’s competitors.
However, The Journal noted that the FTC "hasn’t made a final decision to
try to halt the AdMob deal."
Meanwhile, earlier this week Sen. Herb Kohn
(D-Wisc.) urged the FTC to closely examine the deal for potential competition
issues.
"Ensuring a vibrant and competitive mobile device advertising
marketplace should be a top priority for the FTC as it considers this
deal," Kohl said.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb75n
(AFP)
AOL to Sell or Shutter Bebo Social Network
New York
– Two years after paying $850 million for the social network, AOL (NYSE: AOL) said that it
now plans to either sell or shut down Bebo. In a memo to employees published by
PaidContent, the company said that it simply can’t compete in the space with
the likes of Facebook and MySpace.
"Bebo, unfortunately, is a business
that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment
in order to compete in the competitive social networking space," wrote Jon
Brod, executive vice president of AOL Ventures.
"AOL is not in a position
at this time to further fund and support Bebo in pursuing a turnaround in
social networking."
Brod said that the company plans to come to a final
decision about Bebo by the end of May.
Bebo currently counts approximately 5.1
million users in the U.S.,
compared with 210 million for Facebook, according to comScore.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb4de
(PaidContent)
Apple Confirms Issues With iPad Wi-Fi Connections
Cupertino,
Calif. – After receiving complaints
from new iPad owners about dropped or weak Wi-Fi connections, Apple (NASD: AAPL) has
confirmed that an issue exists, but said the ultimate problem lies with users’ home
network settings. Some users reported that their iPads could not connect to a
Wi-Fi network, while others said that signal strength dropped off as they moved
physically further away from a router.
"Under certain conditions, iPad may
not automatically rejoin a known Wi-Fi network after restart or waking from
sleep," Apple wrote in a post on its support forums.
The company suggests
that users with Wi-Fi routers that are dual-band capable create separate Wi-Fi
network names to identify each band, and ensure that both networks use the same
security type.
If these fixes fail to solve the problem, Apple suggests that
users reset their iPad network settings.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb49i
(Information Week)
http://snipurl.com/vb463
(TechCrunch)
Report: U.S. Online Ad Market Showing Signs of Recovery
New York
– The U.S. Internet advertising is showing "signs of an emergent
recovery," posting a record $6.3 billion in revenues during the fourth
quarter of 2009, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau
(IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The record $6.3 billion spent on
Internet advertising in the fourth quarter of 2009, while certainly aided by
seasonal demand, is a strong indication that the worst of the economic impact
on Internet advertising is over and that the seeds of growth have been
planted," said PwC’s David Silverman.
While the fourth quarter showed a
positive trend, overall U.S.
online ad revenues for 2009 were $22.7 billion, a 3.4% decline from 2008.
Search
ads accounted for 47% of this total, or nearly $10.7 billion — up slightly
from 2008, while display ads totaled $8 billion, up 4% from 2008.
Digital video
ads saw a 39% increase in revenues during 2009.
The report also found that,
looking at PwC data from 2005 through 2009 across ad-supported TV, radio,
newspapers, magazines and the Internet, the Internet’s share of combined ad
revenue grew from 8% to 17%.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb3z5
(IAB report)
Report: Veoh Networks Sells Off Remaining Assets
San Diego – Veoh Networks, an online video service that
raised $67.5 million in venture capital financing, has sold off its remaining
assets to Los Angeles-based 2Peer Ltd., VentureWire reported.
Financial terms
of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2004, San Diego-based Veoh was
originally launched as a user-generated video site, but later focused on
licensing professionally produced content.
The company laid off all of its
remaining employees in February, when it said it would file for Ch. 7
bankruptcy protections.
Related Links:
http://www.venturewire.com
http://snipurl.com/vb3ve
(DMW previous coverage)
Online Ad Network Burst Media Acquires OTP Media
Burlington,
Mass. – Burst Media, an online ad
network for independent publishers, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired
OTP Media, a U.K.-based ad network.
Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Founded in 2002, On The Phone Media focuses on premium advertising
across parenting, automotive, sport, food and entertainment verticals.
Massachusetts-based
Burst said it was the sixteenth-largest ad network in the U.K. in February, reaching nearly 12.3 million
users, and noted that its purchase of OTP will further enhance its presence in
the U.K.
market.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb3jh
Digital Ad Network Zoom Acquires Ad Sales Team Sports Display
New York
– Zoom Media & Marketing, an operator of out-of-home digital ad networks in
over 10,000 venues, announced Wednesday that it has acquired the assets of
Sports Display, a company that places local ads in such networks.
Financial
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
New York-based Zoom counts over
25,000 digital screens and over 55,000 billboard locations, which reach over
100 million monthly viewers in fitness centers, restaurants and nightclubs.
Sports
Display has a local ad sales team of over 100, who previously collaborated with
Zoom to sell ads on the company’s network.
The deal marks Zoom’s sixth
acquisition in the past 18 months.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vb3gv
