U.K. Court Rules Newzbin Usenet Search Violates Copyrights

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

London – The U.K.’s High Court has found Usenet newsgroup
search engine Newzbin liable for copyright infringement in a case brought by U.S.
movie studios, TorrentFreak reported. The court now intends to impose an injunction
against Newzbin to prevent it from offering films whose copyrights are owned by
the studio-plaintiffs in the case, who include Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney and Columbia.

Newzbin had argued that its site
merely functions like any other search engine, offering links to content housed
elsewhere.

The studios noted in their arguments that Newzbin’s own content
categories include "TV," "Music" "Games" and "Movies,"
with subcategories of the latter including incriminating titles like
"Screener" and "CAM."

They also pointed out that Newzbin’s help
guides purport to aid users in finding "obscure music, tv shows, games or
movies. Think of us as a TV guide, but we’re a guide that applies to
Usenet."

Court documents showed that in 2009, Newzbin also generated nearly
$1.5 million in revenue and a profit of $539,000, in addition to paying
dividends of $622,000.

The court found that Newzbin’s site was "designed
and intended to make infringing copies of films readily available to its
premium members"; that Newzbin actually promoted infringement by its
editors and end users; and that Newzbin profited from copyright infringement.

"This
is an important decision and it sends a clear message that websites focusing on
providing viewers with pirated film and TV programmes infringe copyright and
are liable for their actions even where those websites don’t themselves host
the content," said Ted Shapiro, general counsel for the Motion Picture
Association (MPA).

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5b18
(TorrentFreak)

http://snipurl.com/v5cj4
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.newzbin.com

Sony to Nix Linux Installation Option on PlayStation 3

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Tokyo
– Sony (NYSE:  SNE) plans to disable the ability for its PlayStation 3 game console to run
Linux or other operating systems in a firmware update due for release next week,
according to reports.

"Millions" of older consoles will be affected
by the change in policy, which Sony said "will help ensure that PS3 owners
will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment
content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system."

PC
World notes that "running Linux on the PS3 allows amateur developers to
tinker with the PS3’s Cell processor, Sony sanctioned, and cobble together
home-baked utilities and games. It’s also been used by researchers to build ‘discount
supercomputers’ to run scientific simulations that might otherwise ‘cost
thousands of dollars.’"

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5cbx
(PC World)

File-Swapper's Attorney Ordered to Pay Label's Legal Fees

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
5

Boston
– A federal court has ordered attorney and Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson
to pay $2,249 in attorneys’ fees to the major record label who sued his client,
student Joel Tenenbaum, for copyright infringement on a file-sharing
network, the Recording Industry vs The People blog reports.

The court already
found Tenenbaum guilty and ordered him to pay $675,000 in damages; in January,
Tenebaum’s attorneys petitioned the court for a new trial.

The case at hand
concerned Nesson’s failure to produce certain items requested during the
discovery portion of the file-sharing lawsuit.

Plaintiff Sony (NYSE:  SNE) BMG said it was then
forced to file a motion to compel production of the items, and sued Nesson for
the attorney’s fees related to filing that motion.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5byf
(Recording Industry vs The People)

http://snipurl.com/v5c8h
(Ars Technica)

Report: Apple to Introduce New Targeted Advertising Format

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
2

Los Angeles
– Apple (NASD:  AAPL) plans to introduce a new mobile advertising platform that will deliver
targeted ads to users of its iPad, iPhone and other devices, MediaPost
reported, citing unnamed sources. Possibly nicknamed "iAd," the
platform is expected to be announced on April 7, just days after the
introduction of Apple’s iPad tablet computer.

The platform is believed to have
been built on technology acquired through Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless
for around $300 million several months ago.

Various media reports noted that a
move into targeted advertising would put Apple up against online ad giant
Google (NASD:  GOOG), which purchased Quattro rival AdMob for $750 million last year.

 

Poll: Will Apple’s rumored new iAd advertising platform be a success?

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5bgf
(MediaPost)

http://snipurl.com/v5bfz
(Wired.com)

EMI Sued by Doobie Brothers, Others Over Unpaid Royalties

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– Major record label EMI has been sued by copyright administrator Bluewater
Music Services for alleged failure to pay royalties owed to artists including
The Doobie Brothers, The Guardian reported.

The lawsuit concerns some two dozen
songs, for which the label allegedly has not paid royalties to artists for their
use in compilations and as ringtones.

The charges come after the U.K. High
Court ruled against EMI in a dispute over royalties brought by veteran rock
band Pink Floyd.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5box
(Guardian)

http://snipurl.com/v5azc
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.emi.com

http://www.bluewatermusic.com

Best Buy to Stock Apple iPad; Some Online Pre-orders Delayed

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Cupertino,
Calif. – Apple (NASD: AAPL) announced on
Monday that "most" Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) retail stores will be stocking its iPad
tablet computer when it goes on sale this Saturday, while some who pre-ordered
the device online will have to wait an extra week to receive their orders.

Pre-orders
for the iPad began on March 12, and those who ordered by March 27 will receive
their orders on April 3.

Those who placed pre-orders after March 27 won’t see
their iPad orders shipped until the week of April 12.

Consumers may still place
a pre-order online for in-store pickup of an iPad on April 3.

The company did
not provide the Associated Press with a reason for the delayed shipment of some
iPad pre-orders.

 

Related Links:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/03/29ipad.html

http://snipurl.com/v5b0g
(AP)

CardStar Lands $1 Million for Mobile Coupons, Loyalty Cards

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

McLean, Va. – CardStar, a developer of mobile apps
focused on loyalty cards and mobile coupons, has raised $1 million in new
funding, led by Amplifier Ventures.

Acta Wireless and LaunchCapital also
participated in the investment round.

Connecticut-based CardStar was launched
with seed funding from Amplifier Ventures’ Business Accelerator Program last
year.

The company currently offers an iPhone application that aggregates a
user’s various loyalty rewards points in a single location, and plans to use
the new funds to expand to the Android and BlackBerry platforms.

 

Related Links:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100328/bs_prweb/prweb3797364_1

http://www.mycardstar.com

Research in Motion Acquires BlackBerry App Maker Viigo

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Toronto,
Canada –
BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM) (NASD: RIMM) has acquired Viigo, the
provider of a platform for developing BlackBerry applications, according to a
note on Viigo’s website.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, Toronto-based Viigo offers its own multi-faceted application
for the BlackBerry platform, in addition to tools that make it easier for
developers to create BlackBerry applications.

"Our team has joined RIM’s
global organization and will continue to bring our expertise in BlackBerry
application development and real-time content delivery to the BlackBerry
platform," CEO Mark Ruddock wrote on the company’s website.

 

Related Links:
http://bulletins.viigo.com/2010/03/26/breaking-news-viigo-joins-rim/

http://www.rim.net

Quora Raises $11 Million for Web Q&A Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Quora, the operator of a
Web question-and-answer service, has raised $11 million in its first round of
funding, led by Benchmark Capital, TechCrunch reported.

The round, which
additional investors may join, valued the company at $86 million, according to
TechCrunch’s sources.

Founded in 2008, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Quora launched
its service in private beta in January.

The service has since become "one
of the hottest private beta tickets in town," according to TechCrunch’s
Michael Arrington, who notes that the "signal to noise ratio is extremely
high" in terms of the discussions on Quora.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5a3k
(TechCrunch)

http://www.quora.com

U.K. News Corp. Paper The Times Going Behind Paywall

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) News International U.K. unit announced on Friday that it plans in
June to place the websites of its The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers
behind a paywall, and charge £1 ($1.49) for a day’s access or £2 ($2.98) for a
week’s subscription. Visitors will get a free trial before being asked to pony
up, while print subscribers will gain access to the sites at no added charge.


 

Related Links:
http://www.newscorp.com/news/bunews_158.html

http://www.thetimes.co.uk

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