SEPTEMBER 2007
Mark Vinet website
TRADEMARK - Who deserves the "iON" trademark? - CTAM 17sep2007 -- Broadcaster Ion Media Networks, formerly Paxson Communications, and a small media firm named Positive Ions are fighting over the "iON" trademark, which Ion Media wants to use in connection with the distribution of cable services. The two parties are scheduled to square off in federal court in Los Angeles in November.
COPYRIGHT - HBO hopes to crack down on piracy - CTAM 13sep2007 -- HBO has started using a system that inserts an invisible bar code into each frame of a video in order to track the source of shows that appear on the Internet before they've been shown on TV. The system, called Shield Forensic, inserts a unique ID into each copy of shows delivered to reviewers.
RADIO - CANADIAN AM RADIO MAY BE AFFECTED BY US SIGNALS -- As of Sept. 14, those American AM radio broadcasters that have implemented HD Radio will be allowed to transmit their digital signals at night as well as in the daytime. Canadian AM stations operating on frequencies that are first and second-adjacent to powerful US stations may experience increased levels of skywave interference after dark as a result of this recent FCC decision. On conventional AM receivers, this digital interference may be heard as a "rushing" or "hissing" sound, superimposed on the desired analog station's audio. source: THE LEBLANC NEWSLETTER Issue #2 (10sept2007)
TRADEMARK - Lulu sues Hulu AP 08sep07-- An Internet publishing company named Lulu has filed a federal lawsuit against the soon-to-launch Web joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. called Hulu. Lulu accuses Hulu of trademark infringement, deceptive trade practices and cyber piracy.
COPYRIGHT BOARD OF CANADA SUPPORTS IPOD LEVY - The Canadian Copyright Board released a decision supporting the Canadian Private Copyright Collective?s proposed private copying tariff on MP3 players and removable memory storage cards. See: http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/decisions/c19072007-b.pdf.
VIDEO GAMES - ONTARIO COURT RULES IN VIDEO GAME DISPUTE - An Ontario (Canada) court has allowed Research in Motion to seek a declaration that two of its games do not infringe Atari?s copyright in Breakout and Asteroids. Atari had previously launched an action claiming that two games available on the Blackberry infringe copyright in two of Atari?s games. The order has been granted even though there is no provision for declaratory relief in the Copyright Act.
BOOKS - HARRY POTTER PUBLISHER SUES LEAKERS AND SPOILERS - Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter series, is taking legal action against a book distributor, an online retailer, and several peer-to-peer sites, over the unauthorized early release of copies of and information from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
TV - NBC reaches Amazon TV deal after iTunes break 05sep2007 Reuters -- NBC Universal has reached a deal for online retailer Amazon.com Inc to sell television show downloads, it said on Tuesday, just days after the media company pulled the plug on a contract with Apple Inc'siTunes. Amazon will sell NBC shows such as "The Office," "Heroes" and "30 Rock" through its Unbox digital video download service, the companies said in a statement. Individual episodes will cost $1.99 on Amazon, the same as they had on iTunes. NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co., announced on Friday that it would not renew its contract with iTunes, becoming the second major media company, along with Vivendi's Universal Music Group, to challenge Apple's dominance in digital entertainment. Apple last week said NBC Universal had sought to more than double the wholesale rate for each show, which Apple said would have forced its iTunes online store to raise its price to $4.99 per TV show episode from $1.99. NBC Universal, which had been the No. 1 supplier of digital video to iTunes, disputed Apple's claim and said its focus was on more flexibility and the ability to package shows together. NBC and Amazon said they would offer a variety of packages for the shows, including a discount of up to 30 percent when customers buy a full season's worth of shows. New shows will be available the day after they air on television, the companies said. "We're excited to be working with a partner that understands the wholesale and retail relationship and will work with us on creative packaging of content," said Jean-Briac Perrette, president, NBC Universal Digital Distribution. Earlier this summer, Vivendi's Universal Music Group declined to sign a long-term deal with Apple's iTunes, leaving open the possibility for exclusive deals with other services, a source told Reuters in July. Vivendi also owns a minority stake in NBC Universal.
FILM - Academy sues to buy Oscars given to Canadian Mary Pickford AP 03sep07 -- The organization that hands out the Oscars is suing to halt the sale of three Academy Awards, two given to Toronto-born film star Mary Pickford and one to her husband. The Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences says it has filed a lawsuit against three people who inherited the Oscars, claiming the right to purchase the gold statuettes for $10 US each. "If the public believes that any multimillionaire can buy an Oscar, then it becomes cheapened," David W. Quinto, the academy's attorney, said Friday. "It becomes an article of commerce rather than a very prestigious award." Quinto said Pickford was a founder of the academy and helped approve the Oscar design. "From the academy's point of view it's just unthinkable that Mary Pickford … would ever consent to do anything that would ever cheapen it in the eyes of the public," he said. Pickford won one trophy in 1930 for best actress and garnered an honourary Oscar in 1975 as a tribute to her.
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