Facebook Awarded Patent on "News Feed" Technology

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Facebook this week was
awarded a patent on technology related to the "news feed" or
"stream" concept, where a user’s online activities are broadcast to a
customized group of contacts.

The implication could be that Facebook will
choose to pursue licenses of its newly patented technology from a raft of other
social networks and services who offer news feeds of the type covered in the patent.

All Facebook reports that the patent in question does not cover "status
updates" as they have come to be known.

 

Related Links:
http://www.allfacebook.com/2010/02/facebook-feed-patent/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10460150-36.html

Proposed Legislation Would Grant U.S. Visas to Entrepreneurs

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Washington – A new proposal
on Capitol Hill would grant visas to immigrant entrepreneurs launching new
companies in the U.S.,
provided they have commitments to secure a minimum amount of investment
capital. The Startup Visa Act, sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and
Richard Lugar (D-Ind.), is being supported by signatures from more than 100 U.S. venture
capital and angel investors.

To qualify, entrepreneurs would need to land
capital from a qualified U.S.
investor of at least $100,000, as part of an equity financing of not less than
$250,000.

A previous incarnation of the act enables investors from other
countries to earn visas in exchange for starting a business in the U.S. with $1 million in capital and creating at
least 10 U.S.
jobs.

"We applaud Senators Kerry and Lugar for recognizing the importance
of foreign born entrepreneurs to U.S. economic growth," said
Mark Heesen, president of the Arlington-based National Venture Capital
Association.

"These individuals want to build their companies in the United States,
but many have been discouraged in the past by difficult immigration laws. Today
entrepreneurs can build their companies and create jobs anywhere. This bill
sends the right signal that we want them here."

 

Related Links:
http://startupvisa.com/2010/02/24/kerry-lugar-startup-visa-act/

http://startupvisa.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/startup-visa-act_-final-final-1.pdf

http://snipurl.com/uj9p9
(NVCA statement)

Pirate Bay Bidder Hans Pandeya Plans New Digital Media Venture

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Hans Pandeya, the Swedish entrepreneur whose
attempt to acquire file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay for $8 million fell through
after investors backed out, is now working on a new "secret" digital
media venture, he told CNET News.com at Digital Media Wire’s Digital Music
Forum East conference in New York this week.

"I have a lot of secret plans
I’m working on," Pandeya told CNET, adding that he is setting up U.S. operations for the stealth venture in Boston.

"If Pandeya
manages to launch a successful operation in the U.S. or indeed does acquire The
Pirate Bay, it will rank among the most unlikely tech comebacks in some time,"
CNET reported.

 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10460366-261.html

http://dmwmedia.wpengine.com/tags/hans-pandeya

EU Opposes '3-Strikes' on File-sharing in Intl. Copyright Treaty

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Brussels
– The European Commission has issued a statement indicating that it will take
steps to ensure an international intellectual property treaty currently being
negotiated does not include a "three-strikes" provision that would
sever the Internet connections of copyright infringers on file-sharing
networks, ZDNet reported. "We are not supporting and will not accept that
an eventual Acta agreement creates an obligation to disconnect people from the
internet because of illegal downloads," John Clancy, a spokesman for EU
trade commissioner Karel De Gucht, told ZDNet.

"The ‘three-strike rule’ or
graduated response systems are not compulsory in Europe.
Different EU countries have different approaches, and we want to keep this
flexibility."

Several reports on a leaked draft of the ACTA
(Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) in question indicate that it does contain
three-strikes provisions.

More recent reports question this assertion, and
further indicate that the ACTA appeared very similar to the U.S. Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in its scope.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uj8y0
(ZDNet)

http://snipurl.com/uj942
(DMW previous coverage)

http://snipurl.com/uhhjt
(DMW previous coverage)

Gamers Factory Nabs $3.9 Million, Goes Public in Stock Swap

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Hunt Valley,
Md. – Gamers Factory, a company
that refurbishes used video games for the pre-owned market, announced on Friday
that it has secured $3.9 million through a private placement of its shares, and
completed a stock swap that will take the company public.

Gamers Factory did
the stock swap with City Language Exchange; the combined entity will be called
Game Trading Technologies (GTT) and trade on the OTC Bulletin Board under the
ticker symbol "GMTD."

Founded in 2003, Maryland-based Gamers Factory procures,
refurbishes and redistributes used video games for partners including GameStop,
Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Toys "R" Us, GameFly, Costco and Blockbuster.

The
company posted 2009 revenues of $36.7 million and net income of $1.74 million.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uj8qa

http://www.gametradingtechnologies.com

Music Mastermind Gets $4.85M for Web-based Music Creation

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Music Mastermind, the provider of a Web-based music creation platform, has
raised $4.85 million in its first round of funding.

Details on investors were
not provided.

The two-year-old company was co-founded by former Virgin Records
America CEO Matt Serletic, and recently demonstrated its platform at the
Consumer Electronics Show.

The company says its technology "allows anyone
to create professional-quality music and even collaborate with famous artists
on a variety of platforms including web portals, mobile devices and gaming
consoles."

Music Mastermind will use the funds to further product
development and finalize strategic release plans.

 

Related Links:
http://www.music-mastermind.com/node/176

MOG Raises $9.5 Million, Plans Music Service Launch in U.K.

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Berkeley,
Calif. – MOG, the operator of a
network of user-penned music blogs, announced on Friday that it has raised $9.5
million in new funding, led by Menlo Ventures.

New investor Balderton Capital
also participated in the round, proceeds from which will support the
development of mobile applications, partnerships with consumer electronics
makers, and the company’s U.K.
launch.

Founded in 2005, Berkeley, Calif.-based MOG recently launched a
subscription-based music service, MOG All Access, and said it is seeing
"an incredible 17% user conversion from the free trial" to the paid
service.

The company plans to launch the music service, which offers a library
of 7 million songs, in the U.K.
in the second quarter of the year.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uj863

http://www.mog.com

Baidu Secures $50 Million to Launch Video Portal in China

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beijing – Baidu (NASD: BIDU), China’s
leading search engine, announced on Friday that it has received a new $50
million investment from Providence Equity Partners for its new online video
portal venture.

The ad-supported video portal, Qiyi.com, will be majority-owned
by Baidu.

"The online video market has great potential for growth in China," said Baidu CEO Robin Li.

"Providence is our ideal
partner in this space as it has rich experience in investing in and managing
businesses that distribute licensed content online. With Baidu’s strong ability
to drive traffic and offer innovative products that suit user needs, we are
very excited about the future prospects of this new company."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uj7a9

http://snipurl.com/uj7c1
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.baidu.com

http://www.qiyi.com

Lady Gaga Videos Generating 25% of All Vevo Traffic

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Lady Gaga is
currently generating 25% of all of its traffic on Vevo, the music video portal
joint venture between Universal Music, Sony Music and EMI, according to remarks
made by Interscope/Geffen head of digital Ted Mico at Digital Media Wire’s
Digital Music Forum East conference in New
York, CNET News.com reported. Vevo attracted a total
of 35 million unique visitors last month, according to comScore data.


 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10459262-261.html

http://www.vevo.com

CBS Adds U.K. Broadcaster Five to TV.com VOD Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – CBS (NYSE: CBS) has signed a
deal to include programming from U.K. broadcaster Five on its TV.com
video-on-demand service, PaidContent reported. Five, the producers of CBS’
"CSI" franchise, will bring shows including "Neighbours,"
"Home and Away" and "The Gadget Show" to TV.com, making
programs available shortly after their broadcast.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uil90
(PaidContent)

http://www.tv.com

1...1,4541,4551,456...1,518Page 1,455 of 1,518