Associated Press Renews Licensing Deal with Yahoo

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– The Associated Press has renewed a licensing deal with Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) that will keep
the newsgathering agency’s stories on Yahoo’s news section.

The AP reported
that it is still negotiating new licensing terms with Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Google (NASD: GOOG).

Its
talks with Google have proven contentious, leading Google to stop posting new AP
content on its site in December.

Financial terms and other details of the new
deal with Yahoo were not disclosed.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u8uut
(AP)

Grandmother Cleared of Piracy Charge; Internet Access Restored

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– A 53-year-old grandmother was wrongly accused by copyright holders of
downloading 18 films and TV shows, and further had her Internet service
suspended by Qwest before media inquiries eventually helped resolve the matter,
CNET News.com reported.

Colorado resident Cathi Paradiso denied to CNET that she had ever downloaded a movie or
song, and also said as much in a letter to the movie studios that had wrongly
accused her.

"Take me off your hit list," Paradiso wrote. "I
have never downloaded a movie. Period… You’ll need to admit you made a
mistake and move on to the correct perpetrator… I am saying this once more:
My computer is not a toy. My livelihood depends on my ISP’s reliability. Look
for the perpetrator and leave my service alone."

Copyright holders have
turned to ISPs to help stem unauthorized sharing of their content online; several
have agreed to send warning letters to their subscribers, and some have even
suspended Internet service in some cases of repeat offenders.

For its part,
Qwest told CNET it sent 18 claims of infringement to Paradiso across three
months before suspending her account. Paradiso told CNET she never received any
emails or letters from Qwest.

As it turns out, following inquiries about
Paradiso from CNET, Qwest investigated and found that her network had been
compromised — meaning she was not in fact responsible for the movie downloads.

Qwest spokeswoman Monica Martinez told CNET the company works with customers
who believe they’ve been wrongly accused.

"We will work with them if there
is a security issue or a mistake as much as we can," said Martinez.

"This goes to
show that there’s a problem with due process in these kinds of
situations," Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney at digital civil
liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation told CNET.

"If you’re
going to kick somebody off the Internet, there’s a lot of procedures that need
to be put in place to protect the innocent. It doesn’t look like those were in
place here."

 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10444879-261.html

Report: Venture Capital Industry Seeing Mixed Results

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Arlington, Va. – Venture capital performance had mixed
results for the period ending Sept. 30, with short- and long-term investments
showing slight improvement, but those in the five- to 10-year range continuing
to deteriorate, according to a new report from the National Venture Capital
Association.

Though exit markets have shown signs of life in recent months, the
NVCA and partner Cambridge Associates said that a healthy venture capital
environment won’t return until exits capture more sustainable momentum.

"It has taken a full decade after the technology bubble burst for the
venture industry to fully realize the impact of that era and its
aftermath," said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA.

"There are still
healthy returns to be made in venture capital, but until the venture community
sees a more vibrant exit market we do not expect marked improvement
overall."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u8ukd

Amazon Caves to Publisher Macmillan on E-book Pricing

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Amazon.com (NASD:  AMZN) has agreed to raise the price on e-books from publisher Macmillan,
after a standoff last week that saw the company temporarily remove the
"buy" buttons from Macmillan e-book titles on its site, The New York
Times reported. While Amazon’s default pricing on e-books is $9.99, beginning
in March the publisher will be able to set its own price for its e-book titles,
expected to range from $12.99 to $14.99.

The Times noted that these terms are
similar to the terms of deals Apple (NASD:  AAPL) recently signed with publishers for the
sale of their e-books in a new online store for the forthcoming iPad.

"We
have expressed our strong disagreement and the seriousness of our disagreement
by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles," Amazon said in a
statement.

"We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate
and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own
titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are
needlessly high for e-books."

 

Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/technology/companies/01amazonweb.html

Wikileaks Suspends Operations, Makes Plea for Donations

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Wikileaks, a site that lets users anonymously publish documents and other
information deemed confidential, announced that it has suspended operations
while it seeks additional donations from contributors.

"We have raised
just over $130,000 for this year but can not meaningfully continue operations
until costs are covered. These amount to just under $200,000 PA. If staff are
paid, our yearly budget is $600,000," reads a note on Wikileaks.org.

The
non-profit Wikileaks was created by The Sunshine Press, which is "funded
by human rights campaigners, investigative journalists, technologists and the
general public."

The group says it has received over 100 legal attacks to
date, over its publishing of documents related to the U.S. detainee system, the Iraq war, China,
the U.N. and the Church
of Scientology.

Wikileaks
went on to note that it cannot "accept government or corporate funding and
maintain our absolute integrity. It is your strong support alone that preserves
our continued independence and strength."

 

Related Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8490867.stm

http://wikileaks.org

Brand Affinity Technologies Acquires Beelya

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Irvine, Calif. – Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), a
service that offers to help athletes and celebrities gain endorsement marketing
deals, has acquired Beelya, a creator of authentic virtual sports collectibles.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Irvine, Calif.-based BAT was founded
in 2007 by brothers Ryan and Chad Steelberg, who sold their previous venture,
dMarc, to Google.

BAT currently counts more than 3,300 athletes and celebrities
as clients, and works to secure endorsement deals across digital, radio,
outdoor, print and TV ads.

The acquisition of La Jolla,
Calif.-based Beelya will add virtual memorabilia to the list.

Beelya has
virtual memorabilia agreements with over 100 sports stars, including Brett
Favre, Johnny Damon and Matt Hasselback.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u8tek

http://brandaffinity.net

http://www.beelya.com

BlueKai Gets $21 Million for Online Ad Data Exchange

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Seattle
– BlueKai, a provider of data related to online advertising for marketers, ad
networks and publishers, has raised $21 million in a third round of funding,
led by GGV Capital.

Previous backers Redpoint Ventures and Battery Ventures
also participated.

Seattle-based BlueKai’s data exchange aggregates shopping
and research activities across the Internet from over 200 million shoppers.

Customers
include the top 10 U.S.
online ad networks.

The company will use the new funds to deploy new APIs and
real-time systems for its customers.

 

Related Links:
http://www.pehub.com/62388/bluekai-raises-21-million/

http://www.bluekai.com

Local Online Ad Firm Yodle Raises $10 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Yodle, a provider of local online advertising and lead generation services,
announced on Monday that it has closed a $10 million, fourth round of
financing, led by JAFCO Ventures.

Bessemer Venture Partners, Draper Fisher
Jurvetson, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth also participated.

New York-based
Yodle said it saw a 135% increase in revenue in 2009, for its local ad network
of over 75 hyperlocal Web publishers with a presence in 25 major U.S. cities.

The
company will use the new funds to invest in innovation and to support new
product launches in coming months.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u8swn

http://www.yodle.com

Avvasi Lands $14 Million for Mobile Video Monetization

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Waterloo,
Canada –
Avvasi, a provider of mobile video monetization services, announced on Monday
that it has raised about $14 million in its second round of venture capital
financing, co-led by Celtic House Venture Partners and Tech Capital Partners.

New investor Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund also participated in the round,
proceeds from which will be used to accelerate the company’s product release
schedule.

Waterloo, Ontario-based Avvasi provides mobile carriers with tools
that help them measure and monetize their mobile video services.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u8sti

http://www.avvasi.com

Bollywood Film to Premiere on YouTube Same Day as Theaters

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– "Striker," a Bollywood film directed by Chandan Arora, will be the
first in its genre to premiere on Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube on the same day as its
theatrical release on Feb. 5, Variety reported. U.S. viewers will be charged an undisclosed
fee to rent the film via YouTube, while it will be available free of charge in
the rest of the world.


 

Related Links:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118014454.html

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