COPYCENSE

“SanDisk is planning to launch new mini storage card technology that it says will let people play or view secured content on multiple devices, including smart phones and portable digital players.

“The TrustedFlash technology embeds digital rights management software right on the card instead of relying on the player to dictate where and when content can be played. SanDisk, which helped pioneer flash memory storage cards used in phones and digital cameras.”

Michael Singer. SanDisk Stakes Its Future on TrustedFlash. News.com. Sept. 27, 2005.

See also:

SanDisk Corp. SanDisk Introduces TrustedFlash Secure Content Distribution Platform. (press release) Sept. 27, 2005.

"MTV Networks and Warner Music Group Corp. today announced what they describe as ‘an unprecedented global licensing
agreement’ covering the use of WMG’s music videos on MTV’s mobile
platforms.

"Effective immediately across the globe, the agreement
allows MTVN to create and distribute new short-form video content for
mobile devices containing WMG repertoire."

Emmanuel Legrand. Warner and MTV In Mobile Music Deal. Billboard Monitor. Sept. 26, 2005.

“Michael Robertson’s reputation rests on the string of companies he’s started, from MP3.com to Linspire.

“But that reputation stems at least as much from his habit of thumbing his nose at those in power. Robertson’s latest target is Apple Computer, whose iPod music player and iTunes software currently dominate the digital music world. In midsummer, he quietly launched a site called BadFruit, which beat Apple to putting links to podcasts into iTunes with a piece of software called BadApple.

“The latest version of the BadApple allows people to use Apple’s iTunes software to sync their music collections with non-Apple MP3 players. Robertson says he’s pursuing the project–an offshoot of his MP3Tunes music store, which sells independent music in MP3 format without copy protection–in order to encourage the development of interoperability between different music platforms.

John Borland. Getting Bad With Apple. News.com. Sept. 14, 2005.

See also:

Matt Hines. MP3tunes.com Shuns Digital Rights Management. News.com. Feb. 9, 2005.

John Borland. MP3.com Founder Returns to Music Biz. News.com. Feb. 2, 2005.

“Australia’s million iPod users are all breaking the law.

“A Herald Sun investigation has found — despite the popularity of the pastime — no legal method exists for Australian iPod owners to fill their player with music. And they could face court with anti-piracy groups refusing to rule out suing users of the popular player.”

Liam Houlihan. iPod Users Breaking Piracy Laws. Herald Sun. Sept. 22, 2005.

“Microsoft and Intel are throwing their full weight behind one side in the long-running battle over the format for the next generation of high-definition DVD’s.

“Today, the two companies will announce that they are backing the HD-DVD format developed by Toshiba over the Blu-ray standard championed by Sony, Matsushita Electric, Samsung and others. Microsoft announced in June that it would work with Toshiba to develop high-definition DVD players. Now, Microsoft and Intel say they will develop software and chips that will allow personal computers to play the next-generation DVD’s from Toshiba.”

Ken Belson. DVD Fight Intensifies: Microsoft and Intel to Back Toshiba Format. The New York Times. Sept. 27, 2005.

Update:

Ina Fried. DVD Dispute Burns at PC Makers. News.com. Sept. 29, 2005.

(Editor’s Note: The Times allows free access to their stories on the Web for seven days before sending the stories to the paper’s fee-based Archive.)

“The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to expand wiretap accessibility requirements to broadband providers and Internet telephone companies continued to come under legal fire today.

“Fewer than 24 hours after the Center for Democracy and Technology announced it plans to challenge the FCC’s ruling, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it has similar intentions.

Roy Mark. FCC CALEA Order Challenges Continue. InternetNews.com. Sept. 28, 2005.

See also:

Roy Mark. FCC Rings New Round of Regulatory Uncertainty. InternetNews.com. Sept. 28, 2005.

K. Matthew Dames, the executive editor of CopyCense, is speaking at several sessions of this week’s Info X Showcase conference in New York, which is produced by Information Today.

Dames has a prominent role in Info X’s C2: Connect & Collaborate and Buying Digital sessions as a speaker and a moderator, while Stephen E. Arnold, author of the new e-book, The Google Legacy, will be speaking at Info X’s Innovations in Search session.

The speaking schedule for both is listed below. Info X takes place Tuesday, Sept. 27 and Wednesday, Sept. 28 at the Hilton New York in midtown Manhattan.

Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005

1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Collaboration Tools Clinic: Traction Software & iQuest Analytics (Connect & Collaborate)

Speakers: Jordan Frank, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Traction Software; Peter Gloor, Chief Scientist, iQuest Analytics; Moderator: K. Matthew Dames, Executive Editor, CopyCense

Description: Comparing tools or learning if they might work in your environment is much easier when you can see them in action. This clinic provides brief tutorials and demos of important tools given by product experts from sponsoring companies. Join us for a look at how each tool works and can be used productively in your environment.

3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m

Negotiating Contracts & Working with Vendors: How It Really Happens (Buying Digital)

Speakers: K. Matthew Dames, Principal, Seso Group, LLC; Barbara Hirsh, Director, Information Resources, NERA Economic Consulting

Description: Watch and learn about the contract negotiation process in this lively session directed by an info pro who has signed off on dozens of contracts to buy content, and an attorney and library school professor who knows the legal ropes. Using role-playing examples, Dames and Hirsh will show how successful negotiations can turn on a phrase and be helped or damaged by how the process is handled.

4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Insights Panel (Buying Digital)

Speakers: K. Matthew Dames, Principal, Seso Group, LLC; Barbara Hirsh, Director, Information Resources, NERA Economic Consulting; Jan Sykes, Information Management Services; and Michael S. Stelzer, Director, Global Vendor Management, Ernst & Young

Description: Join your fellow attendees and this expert panel to de-construct the examples you saw in the Negotiating Contracts session. Listen and ask questions about their follow-up analysis, and discuss what works, what to do—and what not to—when you are negotiating a contract, and why.

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Envisioning the Future of Search (Innovations in Search)

Speaker: Stephen E. Arnold, Arnold Information Technology; author, The Google Legacy: How Google’s Internet Search is Transforming Application Software

Description: Web search continues to consolidate around the Big Three: Google, Microsoft Network, and Yahoo! Increased competition and new services are almost certain to increase as Ask Jeeves, Vivísimo, and others provide more functionality. Pay-for-traffic firms, such as Vibrant Media, Azoogle Ads, and others exploit chinks in the Big Three’s armor. Meanwhile, software giants Oracle and SOA compete for lucrative enterprise search contracts. How is competition possible with Google’s low entry price level for enterprise search? Steve Arnold, a search industry veteran, takes a hard look at trends that will define search into 2006 and continue to challenge investors, corporate buyers, and entrepreneurs.

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Reading the Fine Print: Licensing Agreements (Buying Digital)

Speaker: K. Matthew Dames, Principal, Seso Group, LLC; Moderator: David Meerman Scott, Consultant & Writer

Description: As more of the world’s information is created or accessed through digital channels, content licensing agreements have become the primary legal construct that governs information access. As a result, today’s corporate manager must know the mechanics of the content licensing contract. This advanced session arms information professionals with the skills they need to negotiate some of the critical clauses in the enterprise licensing agreement, with an emphasis on access, usage, tracking, and renewals.

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Collaboration Tools Clinic: Visible Path & Autonomy (Connect & Collaborate)

Speakers: Antony Brydon, CEO, Visible Path & Eddie Cogan, Director, Business Development, Autonomy; Moderator: K. Matthew Dames, Executive Editor, CopyCense

Description: Comparing tools or learning if they might work in your environment is much easier when you can see them in action. This clinic provides brief tutorials and demos of important tools given by product experts from sponsoring companies. Join us for a look at how each tool works and can be used productively in your environment.

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Instant Messaging (IM) & VoIP: Tools & Technologies (Connect & Collaborate)

Speaker: K. Matthew Dames, Executive Editor, CopyCense

Description: Here’s a look at the tools and supporting enterprise infrastructure that you need to enable real-time conversations. In a review of the tools and technology, Kevin Dames focuses on the latest IM and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) tools and their enterprise applications.