Italian Court Convicts Google Execs Over YouTube Video

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Milan – An Italian court has
convicted three Google (NASD:  GOOG) executives of violating the privacy of a child with Down’s
syndrome, after a video of the child being bullied in a Turin schoolyard was posted to the company’s
YouTube video site. The executives were acquitted on charges of defamation, but
received six-month suspended sentences on the privacy violation charges.

Google
said in a statement on its blog that it will appeal "this astonishing
decision," which the company said "attacks the very principles of
freedom on which the Internet is built."

Google called the video in
question "reprehensible," and maintains that it "took it down
within hours of being notified by the Italian police."

The company added
that it worked with local police to identify the uploader who, along with
several other classmates, was sentenced to community service.

None of the Google executives convicted —
senior vice president and chief legal officer
David Drummond; former Google Italy
board member George De Los Reyes; and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer — reside in Italy or were present at the court proceedings.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui45m
(Google blog post)

http://snipurl.com/ui42g
(Reuters)

http://snipurl.com/ui417
(PaidContent)

Cinetic Co-founder Debuts Investment Firm ErGo Media Capital

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Cinetic Media co-founder Matt Littin on
Wednesday launched ErGo Media Capital, a new entertainment and media investment
firm that will provide venture capital and private equity funding to film,
video game, music TV and new media firms.

The firm is backed by ErGo Ventures,
a private investment firm with holdings across the aerospace, food and wine,
real estate and technology sectors.

New York-based ErGo Media Capital said
it will provide up to $15 million in equity per transaction, and pursue
opportunities both alone and alongside strategic partners like other venture
capital firms, film distributors and video game publishers.

"With
revolutionary changes taking place in technology and consumer behavior, and a
historic recession further pressuring traditional business models, the
entertainment and media landscape is being reshaped," said Littin.

"The company is positioning itself at the leading-edge of these changes,
providing risk capital to innovative companies at a moment when financing is
relatively tight. It’s an exciting moment to be launching our firm."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui3zg

http://www.ergomediacapital.com

Qwest Invests $10 Million in VOD Firm ZillionTV

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
3

Santa Clara,
Calif. – ZillionTV, the provider
of a Web-based video-on-demand service, has received a $10 million investment
from Qwest Communications, Multichannel News reported.

Founded in 2007, Santa
Clara, Calif.-based ZillionTV plans to launch its service commercially later
this year, with partners including Qwest.

The service will offer a library of
over 15,000 movies, TV episodes and other videos, licensed from partners
including Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, Sony and Warner Bros.

Qwest counts nearly
3 million high-speed Internet subscribers in 14 states.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui3tb
(Multichannel News)

http://www.zilliontv.tv

Chinese Online Ad Firm Yoyi Media Lands Funding

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beijing – Yoyi Media, a
provider of targeted online ad services in China, announced on Wednesday that
it has closed its first round of funding, led by Disney-affiliated Steamboat
Ventures and Gobi Partners.

Founded in 2007, Beijing-based Yoyi says it now
serves more than 300 companies, providing targeted ad services to firms
including Audi, China Merchants Bank, Intel, Microsoft and Nokia.

The company
said the funding will enable it to accelerate its business strategy.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui3m6

http://www.yoyi.tv

Online Scrapbook Service Smilebox Adds $2M to Second Round

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Redmond,
Wash. – Smilebox, the provider of
an online photo scrapbook creation service, announced on Wednesday that it has
raised $2 million in follow-on funding for its second round of financing,
announced in December 2007.

Details on investors were not provided.

Founded in
2005, Redmond, Wash.-based Smilebox says that more than 10 million have
installed Smilebox and more than 102 million Smileboxes have been played
worldwide.

The format lets users create an online scrapbook containing photos,
videos and music, and share them via e-cards, slideshows and scrapbooks.

The
company will use the funds for expansion into the European market.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui3h8

http://www.smilebox.com

Report: Founders Fund Invests in Music Streamer Spotify

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Luxembourg – Spotify, the European streaming music service
gearing up for its U.S. launch, has closed a new round of funding led by
Founders Fund, TechCrunch reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.

Founded in
2007, Spotify operates a "freemium" streaming music service in
several European countries, where listeners may choose a free, ad-supported
version or pay for a premium, ad-free experience.

TechCrunch did not report the
amount of the investment, but noted that the money might not be as valuable as the
contacts that Founders Found could provide to help Spotify with its impending
launch in the U.S.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui2vg
(TechCrunch)

http://snipurl.com/ui2uy
(PaidContent)

http://www.spotify.com

DubMeNow Raises $2.8 Million for Mobile Contacts Exchange

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Vienna, Va. – DubMeNow, the developer of a mobile
platform that lets users exchange contact information from phone to phone, has
raised $2.8 million in new funding, led by Syncom Ventures, TechCrunch
reported.

Several other undisclosed angel investors also participated.

Launched
in 2008 by Manoj Ramnani, who also previously founded IT firm Astegic, DubMeNow
offers a service allowing smartphone users to instantly exchange all of their contact
information to another smart phone, through either email or text message.

The
contact data loads directly to the user’s mobile address book, and updates
automatically whenever contacts change their information.

In recent months, the
company also has added several new tools, including those that allow
association members to register for events, students to get course assignments
and event attendees to request exhibitor info from their phones.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/ui2pl
(TechCrunch)

http://www.poweredbydub.com

Google to Ask Early Buzz Adopters to Re-confirm Contacts

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Google (NASD: GOOG) will ask early adopters of the new Buzz social features for its Gmail
service to re-confirm the contacts that were automatically added from Gmail to
their Buzz contacts at the outset of the service, Wired.com reports. The
company received a backlash of negative criticism for the
"auto-follow" feature on Buzz, which has now been switched so that
Gmail contacts are "suggested" as possible Buzz contacts.


 

Related Links:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/google-buzz-confirm

Microsoft, Amazon.com in Patent Cross-licensing Deal

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Amazon.com (NASD: AMZN) have announced a patent cross-licensing agreement,
covering the Kindle e-book reader and Linux-based servers used by Amazon. The
deal includes payment of an undisclosed sum to Microsoft by Amazon. "Microsoft’s
patent portfolio is the largest and strongest in the software industry, and
this agreement demonstrates our mutual respect for intellectual property as
well as our ability to reach pragmatic solutions to IP issues regardless of
whether proprietary or open source software is involved," said Microsoft
deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uhhuf
(AFP)

ReverbNation, Audiolife Team to Offer Bands Online Stores

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– ReverbNation, an online marketing platform used by more than 550,000 artists,
labels and live music venues, announced on Tuesday that it partnered with
direct-to-fan e-commerce firm Audiolife to launch the Reverb Store. The store
offers musicians the ability to sell merchandise ranging from t-shirts to
ringtones directly to fans, via their website, blog, Facebook page and other
social networks.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uhi01

http://www.audiolife.com

http://www.reverbnation.com

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