p2pnet roundups: April 2, 2008
p2pnet headline roundups | Last of the day
New Details Revealed of Music Industry Plan to OK P2P – Wired
Details of a controversial plan to make money from music piracy are beginning to emerge. Spearheaded by Warner Music Group, the plan aims to get internet service providers to pay a few dollars per user per month into a fund that would then be divided among rights holders. The scheme would essentially give P2P users a get-out-of-jail-free card for file sharing activity. Wired.com has learned that industry consultant Jim Griffin, hired by Warner to implement the idea, has already set up an independent company to act as a digital-rights clearinghouse. Griffin’s company would be like an ASCAP for the internet, collecting fees from ISPs and divvying them up among rights holders. In addition, BigChampagne, a company that measures digital-media consumption, would be one of the major sources supplying the necessary data to track file sharing activity. The hoped-for result? A truce in the music wars.
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Olympic committee to China: Don’t forget to open the ‘Net – Ars Technica
Internet censorship is practically synonymous with China these days. The Chinese government is often used as the poster child for restrictive governments that restrict the free flow of information to its residents. That could be why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is getting antsy, as Beijing is bound by contract as this year’s Olympic host city to allow the press to report as usual during the games. And reporting as usual means unrestricted Internet access. The IOC “discussed and insisted” with the Chinese government again this morning that the Internet is required to be “open at all times during Games time,” IOC coordination commission vice chairman Kevan Gosper told Reuters. “There was some criticism that the Internet closed down during events relating to Tibet in previous weeks, but this is not Games time.”
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Royal Canadian Air Farce grounded of own accord – TV Guy
Royal Canadian Air Farce, the sketch comedy show that introduced a generation of comedy buffs to the Chicken Cannon — unlikely ammo fired at worthy targets — will be grounded for good following a New Year’s Eve special on Dec. 31. Despite suggestions Tuesday that CBC cancelled the program, despite its 35 years on radio and TV, the truth is that creator/actor/producers Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson decided to call it quits while there was still life in the old war horse. Air Farce did not crash and burn in the ratings, nor was it grounded by pilot error. The decision was reached by mutual agreement between the producers and the network. A truncated season of 10 episodes will air, leading up to the New Year’s finale.
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‘Dungeons & Dragons’ faces future online – Associated Press
It must be tough to be 34 and already see your children overshadow you. That’s what’s happened to “Dungeons & Dragons,” the roleplaying game that for decades has drawn geeks to roll dice and pretend to be elves, sorcerers and other fantasy heroes. It has never quite become mainstream entertainment, but it has inspired roleplaying computer games like “World of Warcraft” to borrow its principles and turn them into a multibillion-dollar industry. Now, D&D is borrowing from its imitators. The next edition of the game, due out in June, will for the first time be paired with online features that the publisher hopes will lure lapsed players back to the dungeon.
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Michael Geist: E-publishing and the Law – Canadian Journalism Foundation
The Internet and new technologies have ushered in a seemingly unlimited array of possibilities for access to knowledge, creativity, and public participation. University of Ottawa Law School professor and internationally renowned expert on law and the internet Michael Geist will highlight the role that the Internet is playing for new creativity and knowledge sharing, while identifying the business and policy challenges that this creates for journalists and journalism. The talk will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Sally Armstrong (Toronto).
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