Movie Clip Database AnyClip Licenses Universal Pictures

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Jerusalem – AnyClip, the provider of a database of movie
clips that can be shared by users, on Monday announced its first licensing deal
with a major studio, adding clips from Universal Pictures to its service. "AnyClip’s
unique ability to tag, provide custom keywords and allow searches within a full
feature film is an extremely valuable asset," said Sam Nouri, senior
manager, media licensing, Universal Partnerships and Licensing.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4zcr5rn

http://www.anyclip.com

Report: Microsoft to Pay Nokia $1 Billion in Smartphone Deal

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New York – Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) will pay Nokia (NYSE: NOK) more than $1 billion
over five years to use its Windows operating system software on Nokia
smartphones, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the deal’s
terms. Last month, Nokia announced it would discontinue its Symbian mobile
operating system, and use Microsoft’s software on future smartphones.

The deal
also will reportedly see Nokia pay Microsoft a fee for each copy of Windows
used on its phones, but those costs are expected to be offset by Nokia’s
shelving of development on Symbian.

Microsoft is expected to make a profit on
the deal via the per-unit payments — even after the $1 billion in payments to
Nokia — a source told Bloomberg.

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4sgs8gg

(Bloomberg)

http://tinyurl.com/6xfyqv9
(DMW previous coverage)

Qtrax

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Report: Qtrax to Launch Ad-Supported Song Download Service

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Los Angeles – Qtrax, the developer of an ad-supported music
download service in development since 2007 that has missed a number of launch
dates, has signed "short-term" licensing deals with three major
labels and will launch in 30 countries next week, Evolver.fm reports. Qtrax has
signed EMI, Universal Music and Sony Music to new short-term licensing deals,
which will enable Qtrax users to download select tracks from the labels in
exchange for viewing ads.

A source told CNET the deals are three months in length, and intended "to allow the company time to try and raise money…Qtrax still owes some of the big labels money and must get caught up before the three-month period ends or lose the rights to the songs."

Songs downloaded on Qtrax are protected by digital rights
management (DRM), such that they may only be played using Qtrax’s proprietary
player — which utilizes Microsoft’s Silverlight technology.

 

 

Related Links:
http://evolver.fm/2011/03/04/qtrax-free-legal-music-downloads-is-back

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20039439-261.html

http://dmwmedia.wpengine.com/tags/qtrax

http://qtrax.com

Judge Grants Sony Access to PlayStation Hack Site Visitor Data

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San Francisco – A federal magistrate has granted Sony’s (NYSE: SNE)
request for the IP addresses of users who have visited a website that offered
code which can be used to hack its PlayStation 3 to play unauthorized software,
Wired.com reports. The operator of the site, George Hotz, was sued by Sony for
violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) after he published the
code on his GeoHot.com website.

Magistrate Joseph Spero has ordered GeoHot.com hosting
provider BlueHost to turn over IP addresses for every user who has visited the
site since January 2009.

The magistrate also granted a Sony subpoena seeking
data on anyone who has watched a YouTube video Hotz made detailing his hack, as
well as subpoenas of Google (NASD: GOOG) for Hotz’s Blogger.com account logs.

Another
subpoena seeks data related to Hotz’s Twitter account.

Wired notes the next
hearing in the lawsuit is slated for April.

 

 

Related Links:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/geohot-site-unmasking/

http://tinyurl.com/4dtzkso
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.geohot.com

Gannett Rebrands to Showcase Digital Presence

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McLean, Va. – Looking to shed its image as a newspaper
publisher, Gannett (NYSE: GCI) on Monday launched a major branding campaign aimed at
positioning the company as a multi-platform powerhouse.

"We have
significantly changed our business and portfolio over the last several
years," said Craig Dubow, Gannett’s chairman and CEO.

"Our brand
launch represents the natural evolution of that transformation."

The company,
most widely known as the publisher of USA Today, has rolled out a new tagline,
"It’s all within reach," to trumpet its ability to target audiences
across TV, newspapers, the Internet, handheld devices and nearly 9,000 screens
in building lobbies and elevators.

A new logo also has been unveiled, as well
as a revamped corporate website.

Aside from USA Today, Gannett operates 81
community newspapers, 23 broadcast stations, more than 100 digital properties
and screens in more than 900 buildings.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4paygp3

CrowdGather Secures $7.85 Million for Online Forum Network

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Woodland Hills, Calif. – CrowdGather, a network of online
special interest forums and enthusiast message board communities, said on
Monday that it will raise $7.85 million through a private placement of its
shares.

Details on investors were not provided.

Founded in 2008, Woodland Hills, Calif.-based CrowdGather has now
raised a total of over $12 million in funding for its network, which counts 4.5
million unique monthly visitors.

"We are gratified at the tremendous show
of support we have received from investors in this, our most significant
financing round to date," said Sanjay Sabnani, CrowdGather’s chairman and
CEO.

"Our belief has always been that forums are a significant component
of the Internet and deserve to be recognized for the tremendous repository of
high value user generated content that they contain. We will endeavor to
demonstrate this value by building a world class company that acquires,
invests, and partners with forums."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4dqumh4

http://www.crowdgather.com

Google Acquires BeatThatQuote.com for $62 Million

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Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) has acquired
BeatThatQuote.com, a U.K.-based shopping comparison site for financial services
providers, for about $62 million.

BeatThatQuote.com offers price comparisons of
various firms that provide loans, credit lines, insurance and other financial
services.

"We look forward to working with their engineers to create new
tools making it easier for consumers to choose the right financial
products," reads a note on BeatThatQuote.com from managine director John
Paleomylites.

"We think we can offer more transparency and better pricing
information than existing online offerings."

 

Related Links:
http://www.beatthatquote.com

Western Digital to Acquire Hitachi GST Unit for $4.3 Billion

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Irvine, Calif. – Data and media storage products maker Western
Digital announced on Monday that it will acquire rival Hitachi Global Storage
Technologies, a unit of Japanese electronics firm Hitachi, in a deal valued at
$4.3 billion.

The resulting company will be called Western Digital and remain
headquartered in Irvine, Calif., under the leadership of CEO John Coyne.

Hitachi GST chief executive Steve Milligan will become president of Western
Digital.

Western Digital said the deal will create "a customer-focused
storage company, with significant operating scale, strong global talent and the
industry’s broadest product lineup backed by a rich technology portfolio."

Hitachi’s GST unit was established in 2003 in San Jose, Calif.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/45gernr

http://www.hitachigst.com

http://www.westerndigital.com

Kik Lands $8 Million for Cross-Platform Messaging Service

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Waterloo, Canada – Kik, the provider of a real-time,
cross-platform instant messaging service, announced on Monday that it has
raised $8 million in its first round of funding.

Investors included RRE
Ventures, Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures.

Waterloo, Canada-based Kik launched
its service four months ago, attracted more than one million users in the first
15 days; the service now counts more than 3 million users.

The company today also released
a new version of its Kik Messenger today for iOS and Android devices, which
features real-time group chat and picture sharing.

 

Related Links:
http://www.kik.com