Paranoid? Big Publishing’s Not Paranoid
“Amazon.com came under fire from Britain’s book publishing and retailing industries on Monday even as the debate raged over a perceived threat presented by Google Inc.
“The chief executive of HarperCollins UK, said she feared the online book seller more than the Web search leader, which has created a stir with plans to digitize every book.
“She cited Amazon.com’s recruitment of senior executives from the publishing industry and its approaches to book agencies as evidence of the company’s ambition.”
James Goldfarb. Amazon Under Fire on Books as Google Debate Rages. Yahoo! News. March 6, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
AT&T, BellSouth Deal Influences Net Neutrality Debate
“Are consumers going to start having to spend a lot more to surf the Web?
“Phone and cable companies have stoked those fears recently by floating plans that would have Amazon, Yahoo and other Web sites paying new fees to ensure that their content will be delivered to customers faster.
“This possibility has raised the prospect that consumers may end up having to pay twice for access to the Internet — once to the phone or cable company that sells them a dial-up or broadband line, and again to Internet companies that pass along new charges for fast access to content from their sites.
Ken Belson. The High Speed Money Line. The New York Times. March 6, 2006.
See also:
Yuki Noguchi. AT&T Deal Raises Issue of Internet Control. WashingtonPost.com. March 9, 2006.
Arshad Mohammed. AT&T in $67 Billion Deal to Buy BellSouth. WashingtonPost.com. March 6, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
AT&T, BellSouth Deal Influences Net Neutrality Debate
“Are consumers going to start having to spend a lot more to surf the Web?
“Phone and cable companies have stoked those fears recently by floating plans that would have Amazon, Yahoo and other Web sites paying new fees to ensure that their content will be delivered to customers faster.
“This possibility has raised the prospect that consumers may end up having to pay twice for access to the Internet — once to the phone or cable company that sells them a dial-up or broadband line, and again to Internet companies that pass along new charges for fast access to content from their sites.
Ken Belson. The High Speed Money Line. The New York Times. March 6, 2006.
See also:
Yuki Noguchi. AT&T Deal Raises Issue of Internet Control. WashingtonPost.com. March 9, 2006.
Arshad Mohammed. AT&T in $67 Billion Deal to Buy BellSouth. WashingtonPost.com. March 6, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
The King Has a New Owner
“Not much has changed at Graceland, a reverentially preserved 21-room Colonial Revival-style mansion, since Elvis Presley‘s former wife, Priscilla Presley, opened it to the public 24 years ago. Video projectors beam low-tech videos of a sweaty, singing, hip-swiveling Elvis onto walls. In a racquetball court behind the house, dozens of his gold records, along with various sequined jumpsuits and trophies, are on display. And, of course, there is the Jungle Room — the wood-paneled den famously decorated in skins and skulls and green shag carpeting.
“Revenue at Elvis Presley Enterprises, which operates Graceland, has barely changed in recent years, either. It has been stuck at about $40 million annually since 2000, and money for improving the property has been scarce.
“That is all about to change. And when the change is over, Graceland may look a lot like Disneyland.”
Julie Bosman. The King’s Legacy, All Shook Up. The New York Times. March 5, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Big Radio Introduces Its Own Broadcast Flag
“Rep. Mike Ferguson introduced the “Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act of 2006,” H.R. 4861, a House companion bill to the Senate’s broadcast flag bill.
“This bill would require that all future digital radios (both terrestrial, like HD Radio, and satellite, like XM and Sirius) “include prohibitions on unauthorized copying and redistribution of transmitted content.” The FCC would be tasked with working out the details.
“This is the culmination of months of lobbying by the RIAA to lock down the “record” button on your next radio. Despite the fact that, under existing copyright law, building and using digital radio recorders is clearly legal, thanks to the Audio Home Recording Act.”
EFF Deep Links. Copy Protection Coming to (Digital) Radio? March 2, 2006.
See also:
Ars Technica. New Radio Broadcast Flag Legislation Seeks to Control Innovation, Eliminate Fair Use. March 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Games Give Authors New Revenue Stream
“As soon as David Hodgson opened the bundle, he realized that a clock had started ticking on a new assignment: he had four months to write a manual on how to extort, kill and otherwise take over a New York mob family. The task was particularly harrowing, in part because he wanted to make sure that his prose was well organized and clear.
“Inside the package was an early copy of the much-anticipated Godfather video game that its maker, Electronic Arts, is scheduled to release later this month. Mr. Hodgson’s job was to understand every facet of the game and to write a book advising players about how to win it.
“Mr. Hodgson’s name may not ring a bell, perhaps not even with most of his readers. But he is a best-selling author, one of a platoon of 25 or so professional authors turning out books — strategy guides for video games — that can sell hundreds of thousands of copies.”
Matt Richtel. Is the Pen as Mighty as the Joystick? The New York Times. March 5, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Canadian Groups Collaborate on Public Domain Database
“Want to know what published works are in not subject to copyright? Two Canadian copyright groups have announced they will co-operate to create an on-line database of published works that have entered the public domain.
“In what they describe as a “ground-breaking project,” Access Copyright and Creative Commons Canada say they will create the “most comprehensive” searchable catalogue of published works that are no longer protected by copyright law.
“The aim of the registry is to determine whether a published work is in the public domain. The registry will also link to digital versions of the work, and provide information about where a paper copy of the work can be purchased.”
Jack Kapica. Database Planned for Public Domain Works. GlobeandMail.com. March 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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