Microsoft $1.5bn MP3 fine dropped
A US district court has overturned a decision ordering Microsoft to pay phone firm Alcatel-Lucent $1.52bn for infringing music patents. The federal judge in San Diego reversed a jury's decision which had ruled that Microsoft's Media Player software infringed on two Alcatel patents. Both patents regarded how audio was converted into MP3 files. Alcatel said it would appeal against the decision while Microsoft said the reversal was a "victory for consumers". Judge Rudi Brewster ruled that Microsoft had not breached patent laws because Microsoft had already paid German firm Fraunhofer $16m to use one of the patents in question. Given that Fraunhofer had not sued, Microsoft was not deemed to have broken any laws, the judge decided. In reversing the decision, the judge also rejected the argument given to justify the fine - that it amounted to 0.5% of Microsoft's global personal computer sales since 2003. If the French firm were successful in challenging the ruling, he would give them a new trial, but he would not reinstate the original $1.5bn fine. There had been fears that if Microsoft had lost the Alcatel-Lucent case, many other firms that license technology would also be sued. The case in the San Diego court is just one of six cases brought by Alcatel-Lucent that the court is set to hear. They are all against computer firms and include Dell and Gateway.

Music Publishers Join YouTube Copyright Suit
A trade association representing major music publishers signed on as plaintiffs in an existing lawsuit accusing YouTube of copyright infringement, joining a growing list of parties who argue Google Inc.'s video-sharing service routinely violates intellectual-property rights. Members of the National Music Publishers Association own copyrights to lyrics and melodies for songs, separate from the rights to specific recordings of those songs, which are controlled by record labels. Technology and media companies that want to use music typically must secure separate licenses from publishers and record labels. All four major record labels have reached licensing agreements letting YouTube carry their music in exchange for a share of advertising revenue. But most music publishers haven't reached any such agreement. Continuing negotiations have failed to reach a royalty rate that satisfies publishers, people close to the situation said. However, the biggest music publisher by market share, Vivendi SA's Universal Music Publishing Group, has reached an agreement with YouTube, separate from the industrywide one the NMPA has been negotiating toward.

Online ads to overtake US newspapers
The rapid growth of online advertising is expected to see the sector overtake US newspaper advertising in terms of size by 2011. The forecast comes against a backdrop of declining advertising sales reported by newspaper groups this year in spite of continued strength in the US economy. The findings are from a widely-watched annual research report on the media sector by Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS). In the 2007 study, published on Tuesday, VSS forecasts that online advertising will grow by more than 21 per cent per year to reach $62bn in 2011, making it bigger than newspaper advertising, which is expected to total $60bn in 2011. Broadcast television and cable and satellite television combined will continue to take the biggest share of advertising dollars, and are forecast to reach $86bn in 2011. The shift in advertising spending from traditional media to online and digital alternatives is taking place across the globe. In 2006, media usage per person per year declined half a percentage point to 3,530 hours. The study found that while people typically watched television for at least 30 minutes per session, they tended to watch user-generated video clips on the web for five to seven minutes. The use of media in the workplace increased, however, up 3.2 per cent to 260 hours per employee per year, VSS found. Spending by companies on information and media, including business-to-business magazine and trade shows, is also increasing, up 8.1 per cent in 2006 to $227bn.

New York Times to end paid Web service
The New York Times plans to stop charging Internet users for access to its columnists and Op-Ed pieces on a section of its Web site known as TimesSelect. The Post, citing a source briefed on the matter, said a decision had been made by top Times executives. The timing of when the service would become free depends on technical issues, including revamping the software surrounding that section of the NYTimes.com site. TimesSelect Web-only subscribers rose to more than 224,500 in June, the last month for which the company had data, from about 220,000 in April. Subscribers to the print edition of The New York Times also have access to the service. The premium service charges Web-only readers nearly $8 per month to read some of the Times' most well-known columnists such as Maureen Down and Thomas Friedman.

Amazon Stakes Social Music
Amazon.com is leading a first-round investment of AmieStreet.com, a startup digital music store and social networking site where users rate songs and help set download prices. AmieStreet, which announced the Amazon investment but would not disclose the amount, allows musicians to upload digital-rights-management-free music to Amie Street, which makes songs available for download and purchase. Artists who upload music to AmieStreet are promised 70% of song sales and retain ownership of their work. The songs that are recommended the most on the site can garner up to $0.98 per download. Social networking paired with music is hardly a new concept. But it’s significant that Amazon.com is backing a company that promises to promote smaller, independent artists.

Cost of Cybercrime Reaches $7 Billion
A new study has put a price tag of more than $7 billion on the financial suffering experienced by victims of Internet fraud and attacks. That is how much Consumer Report's 2007 "State of the Net" survey projects U.S. consumers have lost during the last two years to viruses, spyware and phishing schemes. According to the report, consumers face a 1-in-4 chance of becoming a cyber-victim, a number that has slightly decreased since last year. Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org are published by Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to work for a fair, safe marketplace for all consumers. The survey was done by the Consumer Reports National Research Center among a sample of more than 2,000 households with Internet access. Security professionals and analysts said they were not surprised by the figures. The survey found the rate of virus infections remained steady compared to last year, which Consumer Reports calls a mark of progress for consumers and software vendors because threats have grown more complex. In the latest survey, 38% of respondents reported a computer virus infection in the last two years, and 17% did not have anti-virus software installed. During the past six months, 34% of respondents' computers were exposed to a spyware infection.

Yahoo signs pact with reality-TV producer
In an increasingly rare collaboration with Hollywood, Yahoo has signed a production deal with the company behind such reality shows as "Temptation Island" and "Joe Millionaire." The Web behemoth's nonexclusive first-look pact with Rocket Science Laboratories will likely focus on shortform video that offers a degree of interactivity. The companies also are examining the possibility of migrating whatever content the deal yields back to the television platform. Neither would disclose any current projects being developed. After former ABC Entertainment chief Lloyd Braun joined Yahoo in 2004, the company boosted its efforts to produce original programming. But even before Braun's ouster in late 2006, Yahoo had shifted its energies elsewhere. Yahoo does have two other deals with production companies: Embassy Row, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" producer Michael Davies' shingle responsible for Yahoo daily series "The 9," and Gotham Group, an animation specialist that has projects in development but no active programming on the site.

Qualcomm ban hits 3G handset imports
Qualcomm is running out of options as a trade ban goes into effect that will prohibit the import into the US of any 3G handset using Qualcomm chips that have been found to infringe on patents owned by rival Broadcom. US President Bush's administration said on Monday that it would not veto a decision handed down in June by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that would prohibit the import of mobile phones using the chips that infringe on Broadcom patents. The ban will go into effect starting on Tuesday. But Qualcomm said on Monday evening that it's not giving up. The company still maintains that Broadcom's patents are not valid. And it said it's still working on an appeal and stay request with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Last month, the appeals court said it didn't have jurisdiction in the case. Qualcomm also said it is working closely with its customers and the operators on implementing new software that will provide a work-around to the patents.

Venture capitalists invest $7.1 billion
Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs closed nearly 1,000 deals totaling $7.1 billion in the United States during the second quarter, marking the biggest burst of activity in nearly six years. The amount invested in startups during the three months ended in June represented a 3% increase from the same time last year, according to data released by Thomson Financial, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. Venture capitalists spread the money across 977 deals, the most completed during a three-month period since the third quarter of 2001. Back then, high-tech financiers were opening up their wallets in last-gasp efforts to rescue startups scrambling to survive the dot-com bust. Emboldened by a much-better investment climate, venture capitalists more recently have been hustling to find promising ideas that could lead to lucrative payoffs in two to five years, either through an initial public offering of stock or a startup's sale to a larger company. Much of the recent investments have been flowing to startups focused on software, biotechnology, medical devices, the Internet and alternative energy. In the second quarter, the software sector led all industries by raising $1.53 billion from venture capitalists, a 9% increase from last year. Venture capitalists infused biotech startups with $1.18 billion, a 3% increase, and invested $896.6 million with Internet entrepreneurs, a 6% decrease from last year.

Average user rating

   (0 vote)