Disney Follows Soderbergh, Shunning Staggered Releases
“Buoyed by its success selling ABC television shows online, Walt Disney Co. plans to revive an experimental service today that beams movies into customers’ homes.
“Disney and its partners — Cisco Systems Inc. and chip maker Intel Corp. — are relaunching MovieBeam as the market for downloadable video is picking up. Disney was among the first companies to sell shows through Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes Music Store.
“But, analysts said, MovieBeam is anything but a sure bet.”
Dawn C. Chmielewski. Disney to Revive Video on Demand. LATimes.com. Feb. 14, 2006.
See also:
John Borland. MovieBeam Video Service Launches Nationwide. News.com. Feb. 13, 2006.
Jennifer Whitehead. Winterbottom Film to Get Simultaneous Cinema, DVD and Online Release. Digital Bulletin. Feb. 13, 2006.
CopyCense. Soderbergh Shakes Up Cinema. Dec. 6, 2005.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Google Rankles Republicans
“Google has a Washington problem. Since it started hiring for its public policy team last year, the Web giant hasn’t snagged a single high-profile Republican. Indeed, Washington’s GOP ruling elite isn’t giving Google the time of day.
“The Republicans can’t seem to forgive what they see as Google’s leftward tilt. In the 2004 federal election cycle, 99% of Google employees’ campaign contributions went to Democrats. For its first lobbyist, the company last May hired Alan Davidson, a Democrat and former privacy policy wonk at the Center for Democracy & Technology think tank.
“And now Google has taken positions on two issues that rankle many on the Right: rebuffing U.S. government subpoenas to measure how many Google searches are related to pornography, while bowing to the censorship demands leveled by China’s communist government as the price of doing business in that country.”
Catherine Yang. Google’s Search for Respect in D.C. BusinessWeek Online. Feb. 9, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Major Shareholders Call for VNU Breakup
“Dutch publisher VNU NV is facing calls from its biggest investors to break up the company rather than be bought up for over 7 billion euros ($8.3 billion) by private equity firms.
“The world’s biggest market research company would be broken up into three segments — Media and Measurement, Marketing Information and Business Information.”
Reuters. VNU Major Shareholders Push for 3-Way Breakup: Report. WashingtonPost.com. Feb. 14, 2006.
See also:
Andrew Ross Sorkin. Hostility by Any Other Name Smells Just as Hostile. The New York Times. Feb. 12, 2006
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Strike the Pose, Then Strike the Deal
“There’s no more highly paid model in the world than Victoria’s Secret babe Gisele Bundchen. The lingerie company shells out around $5 million per year to the 25-year-old Brazilian beauty. But Bundchen doesn’t get a cut of every bra the corporation sells.
“To pocket that kind of “passive” income, Bundchen turned to Brazilian shoe company Grendene, which markets Ipanema Gisele Bundchen sandals. The company slaps the model’s name and likeness on every box of sandals it sells, and in exchange Bundchen pockets around 7% of the wholesale revenue.
“Only the superstars can keep their careers going for much after they turn 30. Assuming she hasn’t married a hedge fund tycoon or just wants to keep working, what’s a supermodel to do?”
Kiri Blakeley. Most Entrepreneurial Supermodels. Forbes.com. Feb. 3, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
Copyright Office Requests Section 108 Comments
The Section 108 Study Group of the Library of Congress seeks comment on certain issues relating to the exceptions and limitations applicable to libraries and archives under section 108 of the Copyright Act, and announces public roundtable discussions. The Federal Register notice (1) requests written comments from all interested parties on the specific issues identified in the notice, and (2) announces public roundtable discussions regarding certain of those issues, as described in the notice. The issues covered in the notice relate primarily to eligibility for the section 108 exceptions and copies made for purposes of preservation and replacement.
Roundtable Discussions: The first public roundtable will be held in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. P.S.T. An additional roundtable will be held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, March 16, 2006 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. Requests to participate in either roundtable must be received by the Section 108 Study Group by 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. on Feb. 24, 2006.
Written Comments: Interested parties may submit written comments on any of the topics discussed in the Federal Register notice after 8:30 a.m. E.S.T. on March 17, 2006, and on or before 5:00 p.m. E.S.T. on April 17, 2006.
U.S. Copyright Office. Section 108 Study Group: Information for the March 2006 Public Roundtables and Request for Written Comments. (.pdf, 127 KB) Feb. 10, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
AT&T Readies Hit List Over MP4 Patent
“AT&T has begun to name names in its hunt to license its MPEG video compression patents.
“AT&T possesses several patents related to video compression, which the company says are an essential component of the MPEG-4 video technology. In a bid to drive its global licensing program, AT&T has targeted Apple Computer, Inc., CyberLink Corp., DivX, Inc., InterVideo, Inc., and Sonic Solutions as unlicensed companies whose products and software utilize the MPEG-4 technology.
“AT&T has also contacted national retailers that distribute products from the companies listed above, to let them know that they may be held liable for infringement.”
Bary Alyssa Johnson and Mark Hachman. AT&T Warns Apple, Others, Of Patent Infringement. PCMag.com. Feb. 9, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
AT&T Readies Hit List Over MP4 Patent
“AT&T has begun to name names in its hunt to license its MPEG video compression patents.
“AT&T possesses several patents related to video compression, which the company says are an essential component of the MPEG-4 video technology. In a bid to drive its global licensing program, AT&T has targeted Apple Computer, Inc., CyberLink Corp., DivX, Inc., InterVideo, Inc., and Sonic Solutions as unlicensed companies whose products and software utilize the MPEG-4 technology.
“AT&T has also contacted national retailers that distribute products from the companies listed above, to let them know that they may be held liable for infringement.”
Bary Alyssa Johnson and Mark Hachman. AT&T Warns Apple, Others, Of Patent Infringement. PCMag.com. Feb. 9, 2006.
CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.
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