COPYCENSE

"America Online launched a promotion Thursday that lets subscribers of its broadband service download full-feature films for free through Movielink.

"The promotion expands on an existing deal between the two companies that allows AOL members to rent downloaded movies for 99 cents a title.

"Under the new program, the companies will make 10 ‘classic titles,’ including ‘Steel Magnolias’ and ‘Against All Odds,’ available for free in the first month. In subsequent months, five movies will be offered. Once downloading is complete, customers have 30 days to watch the film and 24 hours to complete it, once viewing begins."

CNET staff. AOL Offers Broadband Subscribers Free Flicks. News.com. Oct. 21, 2004.

SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"Your digital home entertainment system is about to take a road trip. 

"Consumer electronics makers are racing to find new offerings, from wireless music downloads at gas stations to digital TV, to entertain American families when they’re stuck in traffic, driving home for the holidays, or just out for a ride.

"Some of the efforts to transplant digital media technology from PCs and home entertainment centers are still on the drawing board, companies said at a technology conference. But other changes are likely to start appearing in new cars and SUVs as early as next year."

Declan McCullagh. Digital Home Entertainment Hits the Road. News.com. Oct. 19, 2004.

See also:
Declan McCullagh. Car Crazy: Microsoft in the Driver’s Seat. News.com. Oct. 21, 2004.

David Becker. TVs, Cameras Top Holiday Plans. News.com. Oct. 18, 2004.

SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"CD shipments are surging this year, but not enough to erase previous years’ declines in the music business, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

"The record industry’s trade group said the value of shipments of all music at the midpoint of 2004 had climbed nearly 4 percent compared to the previous year. The industry has shipped 10 percent more CDs to retail outlets than last year, showing a strong increase in demand.

"But that growth does not mean that the industry can let up in its years-long legal attacks on file swapping and other digital copying, executives said."

John Borland. CD Shipments Surge After Lean Years. ZDNet. Oct. 20, 2004.

SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"After years as the unrivaled king of the digital-media world, the venerable MP3 music format is losing ground to rival technologies from Microsoft and Apple Computer.

"MP3 is still the overwhelming favorite of file traders, but the once-universal format’s popularity has been going quietly but steadily down in personal music collections for the last year. According to researchers at The NPD Group’s MusicWatch Digital who track the contents of people’s hard drives, the percentage of MP3-formatted songs in digital-music collections has slid steadily in recent months, down to about 72 percent of people’s collections from about 82 percent a year ago."

John Borland. Is MP3 Losing Steam?. News.com. Oct. 15, 2004.

SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.

"UCLA has developed a new process of identifying and disciplining copyright infringers on peer-to-peer networks, providing schools with another tool to crack down on illegal file sharing.

"Jim Davis, the university’s associate vice chancellor of information technology, testified last week about the UCLA Quarantine project before the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.

"The school developed a system that automatically alerts students to copyright violations. Since it debuted in the spring, the system has been successful, according to Davis."

Katie Dean. UCLA File Swappers in Quarantine. Wired News. Oct. 13, 2004.

"The U.S. Justice Department recommended a sweeping transformation of the nation’s intellectual-property laws, saying peer-to-peer piracy is a ‘widespread’ problem that can be addressed only through more spending, more FBI agents and more power for prosecutors.

"In an extensive report (.pdf) released Tuesday, senior department officials endorsed a pair of controversial copyright bills strongly favored by the entertainment industry that would criminalize ‘passive sharing‘ on file-swapping networks and permit lawsuits against companies that sell products that ‘induce’ copyright infringement.

"Tuesday’s report was not focused exclusively on Internet piracy: It also included recommendations about responses to trademark infringements, trade secret violations and fake pharmaceuticals. But the Internet-related bills it endorses are at the heart of the ongoing political battle pitting Hollywood and the music industry against the computer industry, ‘fair use’ advocates and librarians."

Declan McCullagh. Justice Dept. Wants New Antipiracy Powers. News.com. Oct. 12, 2004.

See also:
Katie Dean. Ashcroft Vows Piracy Assault. Wired News. Oct. 14, 2004.

The Hon. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Prepared Remarks: Release of the Report of the Department of Justice’s Task Force on Intellectual Property. Oct. 12, 2004.

Department of Justice. Attorney General John Ashcroft Announces Recommendations of the Justice Department’s Intellectual Property Task Force. Oct. 12, 2004.