Posts from — October 2006

As you can see from the "Related Posts" links, below I have blogged about YouTube's copyright liability in the past. It seems like the deep-pockets behind YouTube's new parent, Google, have brought out the copyright infringement vultures, and those that wish to speculate on the future (or demise) of YouTube specifically and copyright infringement on the Internet generally. The stories linked-to below are only a few of the avalanche of stories and blog posts on this topic over the last week.

Faced with an increased level of DMCA take-down notices, YouTube is busily working on taking down 10's of thousands of copyrighted works as requested by media owners. It's a difficult chore. Some 60,000 new videos are posted on YouTube every day. Offending materials are often put back up as soon as they are taken down.

YouTube says it will take a tough action to avoid such problems in the future and has committed to developing and deploying technology that can sniff out copyrighted video clips and bits of music. YouTube will also provide "copyright owners with user identification information" of users that post infringing content - after receiving a valid subpoena (See this CNet article).

While there may be some bumps and no doubt many legal hurdles and lawsuits along the way, if I were a betting man, I'd bet that YouTube will survive all legal challenges in-tact. This is a new and emerging area of the law. The DMCA provides the s. 512(c) safe harbour for this (the take-down scheme). YouTube is complying with its take-down obligations under the DMCA and similar laws around the globe.

More interestingly, YouTube's 10 minute video clip limit can dovetail with the self-interest of Big Media - those most likely to sue, and have the resources need to sue, Google. After initially fighting with YouTube over the posting of this Natalie Portman skit on Saturday Night Live, in the face of a furor from Internet bloggers, NBC backed-off, and allowed the post to remain on YouTube for awhile. NBC discovered that YouTube was a terrific way to promote its show as new and hip to a coveted younger demographic. Ahhhhhhhhh —- self interest (with strong lobbyists) … wins every time!

Sources: New York Times | ABC News | BBC | Forrester | PVRWire | Information Week | Fox News | ars technica | Mark Cuban 1 | Mark Cuban 2 | Mark Cuban 3 | Register | Variety | Forbes (AP) | CNet 1 | CNet 2 | Slate

Cranky Geeks Videocast on Topic (Episode 31) John C. Dvorak, Sebastian Rupley, West Coast Editor, PC Magazine, Matt Mullenweg, Founder, WordPress.org, Gary Messiana, CEO, Netli, Inc.

Related Posts:

• Why Google & YouTube are Not Getting Sued Out of the Water (December 11, 2006)
• YouTube Faces Heightened Copyright Scrutiny Since Google Buyout Announcement (October 30, 2006)
• YouTube Sued by L.A. News Service (July 17, 2006)
• How YouTube Avoids the Internet Copyright Police (July 17, 2006)
• RIAA Sends Cease and Desist Letters to YouTube/Google Video Users (June 15, 2006)
• YouTube's Looming Fair Use Battle (May 5, 2006)

Categories: Big Media v Internet, BigMedia v NewTech, DMCA-like Laws, Fair Use/Dealing, New Business Models, iVOD/iTV

Digg Del.icio.us 1 Comment 

One of Europe's largest ISPs, Tele2, has been ordered by a Danish court to block AllofMP3.com, the controversial Russia-based MP3 etailer. To my knowledge, this is the first decision of its kind anywhere in the world. The decision sets somewhat of a precedent insofar as there is now an affirmative obligation of a Danish ISP to effectively censor the sites their customers can access. Tele2 has said it will appeal the decision.

Dale's Comment: This ruling can be easily circumvented by Danish web surfers simply by using any of the numerous anonymizer sites on the Internet.

Sources: Slyck

Related Posts:

• AllofMP3.com Lives On Despite U.S./Russian WTO Agreement (December 10, 2006)
• Russia Agrees to Shut Down AllofMP3.com at U.S. Request (November 29, 2006)
• Danish Court Blocks AllofMP3.com (October 25, 2006)
• Visa and Mastercard Stop Servicing AllofMP3.com (October 18, 2006)
• Russia Implements Internet Piracy Law in Gambit to Join WTO (September 1, 2006)
• BPI to Sue AllofMP3.com (July 5, 2006)
• AllofMP3.com Responds to Recent Scrutiny (June 6, 2006)
• Russia-based AllofMP3 Launches DRM-free allTunes (March 29, 2006)
• RIAA's Next Big Target: Russia (December 27, 2005)

Categories: Big Media v Internet, Cases, DRM-Free Services, Decisions

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

More than ten years ago, Congress passed an act requiring cable companies to adopt the CableCard technology. The FCC has promulgated C.F.R. 76.1204(a)(1), requiring cable operators to implement CableCard technology into their set-top boxes. After failing in their court challenges to invalidate the law/rules, the cable industry has repeatedly asked for, and been given, extensions to deadline. Last year, the FCC mandated a final deadline of July 1, 2007 once and for all. In keeping with their stalling tactics, Charter, Verizon, Comcast and the NCTA have, again, requested varying waivers from this mandate. Since TiVo's Series 3 product relies on the cablecard standard, TiVo opposes these waiver petitions and is lobbying hard to thwart these requests so as to to firmly establish the Cablecard standard. I, for one, support TiVo whole-heartedly. Enough is enough.

Sources: Engadget | ZatzNotFunny.com | TiVo's Oct. 13 Letter to the FCC | Gizmodo

Discussed here: TiVoCommunity

Related Posts:

• FCC Chairman Declares No More Blanket CableCARD Waivers (January 12, 2007)
• TiVo Continues to Fight the Good CableCARD/Integration Ban Fight (October 19, 2006)
• CableCARD Primer (February 6, 2006)
• Microsoft and Cablelabs Agree on CableCARD Integration into Windows Media Center (November 16, 2006)
• FCC Releases 12th Annual Report on the Status of Competition in the Video Programming Market (March 3, 2006)

Categories: BigMedia v NewTech, Digital TV, FCC

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

Hearkening back to the days of iCrave.TV, the TV networks and studios have another imminent battle on their hands. The TVU Player (downloadable here) from TVU Networks in Shanghai, China. TVU Player allows anyone to place a broadcast signal on the Internet for view by anyone.  See Review here: (WebTVHub)

November 6, 2006 Update: Paul Shen the CEO of TVU Network was interviewed by CNET:

He acknowledged that much of the content on the TVUPlayer belongs to others but denied being a video pirate. Users of his technology are responsible for any copyright violations, Shen said, and they are the ones who stream the TV broadcasts–though he conceded that they are able do this only through the use of his technology.

Mr. Shen also claims that his technology was intended as a demonstration of technology only and that it "can help broadcasters mine a rich new distribution platform and advertise to new customers".

Dale's Comment: Given the Chinese jurisdiction, this one may be harder for the MPAA et. al. to shut down. However, PVR Wire says that Paul Shen lives and works in Northern California. Mr. Shen may wish to talk to the folks behind iCrave TV and SportingStreams.com to see how receptive the broadcast industry will be to this kind of help!

Original Sources: Gizmodo | Web TV Hub | PC Magazine | ABC | P2P-Weblog | Digital Journal | PVRWire

Related Posts:

• TIOTI - Another Web-based TV Service Combining Legitimate TV with BitTorrent Feeds (November 15, 2006)
• TVUPlayer - Watch Most Any TV Station Anywhere (October 19, 2006)
• Judge Shuts Down UK-based Streaming Football Site (June 14, 2006)
• Canada Blocks Free Net TV - iCrave TV (January 17, 2003)

Categories: Big Media v Internet, New Tech, Piracy, iVOD/iTV

Digg Del.icio.us 3 Comments 

Both Visa and Mastercard have announced that it has stopped accepting transactions from AllofMP3.com, the Moscow-based, deep-discount, comprehensive music download service. It is the second most-used music download site on the Internet. It is popular because users can purchases songs how they want, in whatever format and bitrate they want without use-limiting DRM.

Mastercard justified this action by saying they do not "tolerate the use of its network for illegal activity." AllofMP3's notes that what it does is not illegal in Russia - and so far the Russian courts have upheld this view.

"The company believes the action taken by the world’s largest payment processors is arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory because Visa and MasterCard lack the authority to adjudicate the legality of AllofMP3’s activities and its determination that the company’s activities were illegal is patently erroneous and without legal merit. AllofMP3 has not been found by any court in the world to be in violation of any law."

"It is evident that Visa and MasterCard made the decision on factors other than legal grounds since the decision was not based on an adjudicated verdict by any court in the Russian Federation or, for that matter, anywhere in the world. To disqualify AllofMP3 based on a payment processing company’s whim is irresponsible and sets a bad precedence."

AllofMP3's immediate response was to start giving away music free to all-comers. It is considering talking legal action against the credit card companies. Some reports have said that it is considering moving to an all-advertising business model.

Dale's Comment: Despite the many actions of governments and courts around the globe, this is clearly the first real nail in AllofMP3.com's coffin. The major labels should establish a virtually identical service and charge up to ten times the price AllofMP3 charges and honest users like me would flock to their service. AllofMP3.com fills a critical need for honest music purchasers - a service where songs can be purchased where the user is not restricted as to the player she wishes to play the music on nor is she limited to the number and type of devices and services she can play her music on.

Sources: CNet | Information Week | Geek.com | Computer Business Review | Business Week | Warez | PC Pro | PC Magazine | Techwhack | Slyck | MP3.com | ars technica 1 | ars technica 2 | Forbes | afterdawn| T3

Related Posts:

• AllofMP3.com Lives On Despite U.S./Russian WTO Agreement (December 10, 2006)
• Russia Agrees to Shut Down AllofMP3.com at U.S. Request (November 29, 2006)
• Danish Court Blocks AllofMP3.com (October 25, 2006)
• Visa and Mastercard Stop Servicing AllofMP3.com (October 18, 2006)
• Russia Implements Internet Piracy Law in Gambit to Join WTO (September 1, 2006)
• BPI to Sue AllofMP3.com (July 5, 2006)
• AllofMP3.com Responds to Recent Scrutiny (June 6, 2006)
• Russia-based AllofMP3 Launches DRM-free allTunes (March 29, 2006)
• RIAA's Next Big Target: Russia (December 27, 2005)

Categories: Big Media v Internet, Lobbying, New Business Models, Piracy

Digg Del.icio.us 1 Comment 

Dale’s Comment: Sweden is home of the infamous PirateBay.org and has long been seen as a relative haven for file sharing with lax copyright enforcement for file sharing thus far.

Sources: Chron | Reuters | Sydney Morning Herald | The West

Categories: BigMedia v. P2P Users, Convictions

Digg Del.icio.us 1 Comment 

Following the recent successful conviction and settlements against North American P2P Providers, the IFPI has filed 8000 new lawsuits in 17 countries and P2P users using all the major peer-to-peer services, including BitTorrent, eDonkey, DirectConnect, Gnutella, Limewire, SoulSeek and WinMX. While most of the new law suits were filed in Europe and South America, suits have also been filed in Argentina, Austria, Singapore, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, France and Germany, plus others like Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Holland and Portugal. The IFPI claims that more than 2,300 people had already been fined or had paid compensation averaging about $3,100.

Dale’s Comment: The thousands of suits launched to date have not made a dent in file sharing. I wonder why these folks continue to think that suing their customers is a better idea than providing a fair way for honest people to purchase music online

Sources: Silicon.com | Herold Tribune | London Times Free Press | L.A. Times | Inquirer | PC World | ars technica | BBC | Reuters | CBC.ca | ABC | Red Herring | Toronto Sun | AfterDAwn | TechWeb | The Jurist | MP3.com | P2PNet | PC Pro | CNet | Business Week (AP) | MacWorld

Related Posts:

• Music Industry Releases New Wave of Lawsuits (April 4, 2006)
  
• Music Industry’s New Piracy Crackdown (November 15, 2005)

Categories: BigMedia v. P2P Users

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

In a battle reminiscent of the Gemstar/TiVo patent dispute from 2000-2003, which settled when TiVo licensed Gemstar’s patents and agreed to place TV Guide’s logo on TiVo’s onscreen program guide (see CNet account of Settlement here), Gemstar, the owner of TV Guide, is suing Moxi over its use of onscreen programming guides. Apparently this all started when Digeo, Moxi’s parent, sought to license a subset of Gemstar patents pertaining to interactive program guides (IPG). Gemstar would only agree to license the entirety of its patents to Moxi - presumably at a higher fee than Moxi was willing to pay for the subset of IPG-related patents. Moxi had first filed a pre-emptive antitrust suit in September.

Sources: Engadget HD | Seattle Times | Broadcast Newsroom | Zatz Not Funny!| PVRWire | ag-it-news

Categories: Cases, Patents

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

I am one of the first, if not the first, TiVo Series 3 PVR owners/users in Canada. Despite its current limitations as a viable product in Canada, I set out my reasons for purchasing the S3 in this thread at Digital Home Canada forum and in this thread on the TiVoCommunity forum. Below are my initial thoughts and conclusions.

While not ready for Canadian prime time, I can certainly recommend it for bleeding-edge, tech-savvy, gadget lovers looking for the best HD PVR available - assuming you have lots of extra cash in your pockets, live reasonably close (within 40 miles) of the local HD transmission towers and don’t mind using it in manual mode until programming guide information becomes available for over-the-air (“OTA”) digital programming in Canada!

For hundreds of posts on others’ experiences with the Series 3 in the U.S., please visit the TiVo Series 3 forum on the TiVo Community Forum website. I recommend checking out Megazone’s S3 FAQ, his S3 review, and his S3 photos. The S3’s user guide can be viewed (in .pdf format) here.

April 24, 2008 UPDATE: Global is now broadcasting in HD and can be recorded on TiVo S3s and TiVo HD’s in Hamilton, Metro Toronto and surrounding areas. Click here for details.

March 2008 UPDATE: As mentioned in my May 2007 update below, I stopped using my TiVo S3 in manual mode and started using guide data from Niagra Falls. Recently I re-did Guided Setup and my TiVo S3 now thinks I’m located in Youngstown New York with zip code (14305). As a result my TiVo S3 provides the proper guide data for all the U.S. broadcast stations I receive in Toronto and, now with the Youngstown zip code, Toronto’s City TV, and CFTO. I still record the other Canadian HD stations in manual mode - though rarely because their content is almost always just a duplicate U.S. content. I expect more Canadian stations will be added to the Youngstown line-up over time. The guide data for CBC exists too, but due to a problem with Tribune’s guide data, I still cannot use it to record from CBC other than in manual mode. See this TiVoCommunity post for details. If/when Tribune/TiVo starts providing native Toronto digital broadcast guide data I will update this post.

December 2007 UPDATE: TiVo S2 Now Available at Retail in Canada. As of December 2007, the Series 2 (non-HD) TiVos are available for sale at retail in Canada - only 9.5 years after their U.S. launch!

September 2007 UPDATE: With the recent updates, the Series 3 TiVo’s now have all the advanced functionality that the Series 2 models have, including multi-room viewing, TiVo to Go, TiVo to Comeback (ie: transferring content to and from a PC over the home network and copying to portable devices like an iPod or a Zune).

May 2007 UPDATE: For some inexplicable reason Tibune and TiVo still do not provide OTA-digital guide data for Canada. Despite dozens of emails, phone calls, forum requests etc. I have not received an answer from anyone at TiVo or Tribune or Zap2It in answer to my question when will OTA-digital guide data be available in Canada. I gave up and decided to set my TiVo with a Niagra Falls New York Zip code. I purchased a dual-tuner S2 to record my analogue and digital cable channels. This combination works well. Ht Niagra Falls guide data gives me everything I need to record U.S.-based network OTA-digital channels in Toronto. It does not have Canadian networks, but since everything I want to record on my S3 originates from the U.S. networks, this is no loss. So, I no longer use the ‘temporary’ manual recording approach that I describe below. I have a fully functional S3 in Canada without the ability to record from analogue cable any more - that’s what the new dual-tuner S2 does.

Nov 3, 2006 UPDATE: On Sunday October 22, My TiVo Series 3 died completely - wouldn’t even turn on. Working with Weaknees my replacement unit arrived on Thursday November 2. The new unit is working perfectly. Please see the warranty replacement details in the new section 14 below.

CONTINUE READING →

Categories: New Tech

Digg Del.icio.us 28 Comments 

Feature Article: Billboard (via Reuters)

Discussed here: Macworld

Categories: DRM Analysis, DRM-Free Services, FYI, New Business Models

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

TiVo won a $74M patent infringement case against Echostar on April 13, 2006. On August 18, TiVo won an injunction preventing Echostar from making and selling infringing DVRs. The injunction was immediately stayed by the Court of Appeal. Today, the injunction was stayed indefinately pending Echostar’s appeal. This means that Echostar will not have to disable its several million deployed PVRs. “There is a substantial case” for EchoStar’s appeal, concluded Circuit Judge William C. Bryson and Echostar would be harmed if it had to shut down. The ruling wasn’t based on the merits of Echostar’s ultimate case.

Dale’s Comment: I can’t say this was unexpected. Disappointing, but not unexpected.

Sources: Forbes | Bloomberg | Business Week (AP) | Mercury News | BetaNews | Red Herring | Engadget | Zatz Not Funny | Davis Freeberg | Multichannel News | TiVo Press Release | Dish Press Release

Related Posts:

• Federal Circuit CA Blocks TiVo Injunction Against Echostar Pending Appeal (October 4, 2006)
• TiVo Wins Injunction Against Echostar - Appeals Court Grants a Temporary Stay (August 18, 2006)
  
• Echostar Follows RIM/NTP Playbook and Urges Judge to Stay TiVo Judgment (April 27, 2006)
• TiVo Wins Patent Infringement Case Against Echostar (April 13, 2006)
• TiVo Case Against EchoStar Headed to Jury (April 13, 2006)
• See Day-by-Day Trial Update Posts in March and April of 2006
  
• TiVo, EchoStar Head to Court (March 29, 2006)
• TiVo Against the Giants (March 15, 2006)

Categories: Cases, Injunctions, Patents

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments 

Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a new WiFi bill. Beginning on October 1, 2007, all wireless home networking equipment sold in California must come with an obvious warning (a sticker on the device itself or a screen in the software setup) about the dangers of unsecured networking. The warning must also give instructions on how to password-protect the network.

Sources: ars technica | Wi-Fi Planet | OUT-LAW.com 

Related Posts:

• FCC Rules Logan Airport Can't Restrict WiFi (November 6 , 2006)
• Schwarzenegger Signs Mandatory WiFi Equipment Warning Bill (October 3, 2006)
• Westchester County NY Law Requires Some Businesses to Secure Their WiFi Networks (April 21, 2006)

Categories: WiFi Access

Digg Del.icio.us No Comments