p2pnet World Headlines – July 1, 2009
Music copyright lawsuit targets Microsoft, Yahoo, Real CNet News
I’m not a lawyer, but I’m well-acquainted with legal filings from analyzing Microsoft’s legal travails for the last nine years. I’ve seen a lot of aggressive lawsuits, but a copyright infringement suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee is one of the boldest–and, I’d argue, short-sighted–filings I’ve ever seen. The suit appears to have been initiated by Music Copyright Solutions (MCS), which claims to administer copyrights for more than 45,000 compositions. MCS is named as the lead plaintiff, along with a number of songwriters including Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad fame. These folks allege that Microsoft, Yahoo, and RealNetworks improperly licensed the rights to more than 200 compositions that they offered as on-demand streams or limited downloads via the Zune Marketplace, Yahoo Music, and Rhapsody.
Use Of The Word Tweet In Applications TechCrunch
We were just forwarded an e-mail conversation between a Twitter API team member and a third-party developer because the latter was using a UI for its web-based service that was admittedly very similar to Twitter’s web application. The startup of course has the right to protect its assets and do its utmost to avoid confusion with users who might think they’re using a Twitter product rather than that of a developer making use of its API. But something else caught our attention in the thread: Hi, Twitter, Inc is uncomfortable with the use of the word Tweet (our trademark) and the similarity in your UI and our own. How can we go about having you change your UI to better differentiate your offering from our own?
What Went Wrong With Joost? Gigaom
Joost, a much-vaunted online video startup, today announced that it will offer a white-label video hosting platform, thus entering a crowded market littered with the carcasses of other failed video hosts. The company is also losing its famous chief executive, Mike Volpi, whom it’s replacing with Matt Zelesko, the current vice president of engineering. And it plans to cut a portion of its workforce — between about 70 of its remaining 90 employees, according to Advertising Age. It also shut down its office in the Netherlands.
Jackson Had Filmed A 3D Movie Before His Death IMDb
Details were still sketchy, but the Associated Press reported Monday that two weeks before his death, Michael Jackson wrapped up production on a 3D film titled The Dome Project, which he had expected to be included in his London performances. The project hearkened back to his Thriller 3D movie that became an attraction at Disneyland. Sources told the A.P. that the movie was shot “in marathon sessions” on four different sets at Culver Studios from June 1-9 but that five weeks of work went into the project.
No custom taxes on cell phones Stockholm News
There will be no customary charges on cell phones. This agreement between the the EU countries today satisfied the Swedish Minister for Trade Ewa Björling. According to the initial proposal by the EU-commission, advanced phones would not be classified as cell phones anymore and thereby be subject of customary charges on up to fourteen percent writes DN. This would harm many European companies and threaten Swedish jobs according to the minister. Finland has also been worried about the proposal. The decision came on the same day as Sweden took over the EU presidency.
YouTube Co-Founder Switches to Google New York Times
YouTube confirmed on Tuesday that Steve Chen, a co-founder and most recently YouTube’s chief technology officer, was no longer working at the company. Mr. Chen left some time ago to work on unspecified engineering projects at its parent, Google. In an e-mail, YouTube spokesman Ricard Reyes said: “Steve shifted his focus to help with some Google engineering projects. He’s still involved with YouTube and invested in its success.”
Regulators push for fairer, easier data protection compliance in outsourcing deals OUT-LAW News
The European Commission should make sure that outsourcing providers who process personal data are bound by consistent rules irrespective of whether they are based inside or outside the EU, data protection watchdogs have said. The European Union’s Article 29 Working Party, which consists of the privacy regulators from the 27 EU nations, have published an opinion on an as-yet unpublished European Commission policy change on the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area (EEA). It said that the Commission needs to adopt a more consistent approach in its policy governing processors. Companies that handle personal data are required by the EU’s Data Protection Directive to make sure that any outsourcing providers they use give adequate protection and security for that data, even if those providers are outside the EU and so not directly bound by the Directive.
Telus launches into satellite TV business Vancouver Sun
Vancouver-based telecommunications giant Telus Corp. has added satellite television to its suite of services Telus satellite TV — with more than 500 digital channels, including more than 80 in high definition — is now available to more than 90 per cent of homes in British Columbia and Alberta, the company said in a news release. In May, Telus announced it had signed a deal with BCE Inc. to sell Bell’s satellite TV in the two western-most provinces under the Telus brand. Telus also has its own television service, Telus TV, which is delivered through its broadband network. That service has been launched in major centres — where the broadband infrastructure exists — and has more than 100,000 subscribers.
Most wireless 911 callers won’t be locatable despite new rules: study CBC
\Customers who don’t have GPS-capable phones may not be able to use enhanced 911 services with certain wireless carriers, a new study suggests.Customers who don’t have GPS-capable phones may not be able to use enhanced 911 services with certain wireless carriers, a new study suggests. (Canadian Press) Wireless providers must have the technology to locate Canadian 911 callers by next February, but most cellphone users won’t be covered, a new study suggests. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission requires that wireless service providers have systems that provide emergency responders with the location of 911 calls made from a cellphone by Feb. 1, 2010. A number of Canadians have died after making 911 calls because the dispatcher could not tell where they were calling from. A study released by the technology market intelligence firm IDC Canada Inc. this week estimates that as few as 30 per cent of wireless devices in Canada will be able to provide accurate location data to emergency responders by February of next year.
Guinness offers drinkers chance to win space flight The Telegraph
Guinness has launched a competition offering drinkers the chance to win a trip into space aboard Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spacecraft. The brewer is putting three once-in-a-lifetime experiences up for grabs themed on the colour of its famous black stout beer. To mark its 250 years in business, the company is sending one winner into space, another to the depths of the ocean, and a third to an exclusive Black Eyed Peas concert.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
July, 2009
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