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Score a rare victory for the downloaders in their fight against the record industry. A federal court ruled against shutting down two file-swapping services, Morpheus and Grokster, on Friday, saying they had legitimate uses as well as illegal ones. So-called peer-to-peer services have heretofore had a tough time defending themselves against copyright holders in court, with the best-known service, Napster, suspending operations under court order. Owners and users of file-sharing services have compared them to the videocassette recorder, another technology Hollywood tried to quash before figuring out how to use it for profit. But record labels and studios say file-sharing is different, both in the ease of copying and in the intent of the technology, whose primary function, they say, is to facilitate copyright infringement.
Under pressure, Google buys ad targeter
Google made its biggest acquisition yet last week as the internet search wars heat up. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company bought Applied Semantics for an undisclosed sum. Applied Semantics makes software that matches web sites with content-appropriate advertising. Google is set to make a major advertising push, what with competitors Overture and possibly Microsoft also readying to challenge the longtime leader in online searches. Google currently sells listings to advertisers that correspond to search queries. The ads appear at the top of the page, separate from query returns. The company also has begun placing ads on outside web pages in a “content targeting” program similar to Applied Semantics’ services. Google actually had been interested in partnering with Applied Semantics, but then decided that buying it would be more lucrative in the long run. The New York Times estimated Google’s revenues at $750 million this year; the company does not release sales or earnings statements.
Australian pirates cost record labels $35M+
An internet music piracy site that allegedly cost the industry more than $35 million has been shuttered in Australia. Police say that three college students ran the site MP3 WMA Land, which offered free downloads of music and video files. Many of the downloads were being watched and listened to via university computers, police say. Hundreds of pirated MP3 files were linked to WMA. The site worked through a series of mirrors, or replicas of original sites, and received millions of hits in the past year. Music industry losses caused by the site were estimated at $37 million to $44 million. The five biggest record labels in the U.S. plus Australia’s Festival Mushroom Records were all affected. All three students were released on bail and will face jail time of up to five years or a fine of $37,000.
Court to Verizon: Reveal downloaders' names
Verizon may have to reveal the identities of its phantom downloaders anyway. Although a lower court decision back in January had ordered the communications company to name the two customers accused of infringing on song copyrights, Verizon had managed to dodge the mandate while awaiting appeal. Thursday a U.S. District Court said that Verizon had to reveal the names within the next two weeks, barring a last-minute respite from the appeals court. The case has been mired in court since last summer, when the crusading Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), in the midst of a vast anti-piracy initiative, accused the Verizon customers of conspiring to slow CD sales. The availability of pirated songs on the internet has contributed to a drop-off in CD sales the past two years. According to the RIAA, Verizon must reveal the two customers’ identities in accordance with the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. After having its earlier arguments rejected, Verizon now claims that the law violates free speech rights.
Microsoft delays Office 2003 till late this year
There’s no need to change its name to 2004 yet, but the release date of Office 2003 continues to creep later into the year. The earliest it could appear is late summer, as Microsoft has just prepared a new test version that will require tweaking. According to Microsoft, some 600,000 testers are currently using a beta version of the new release. That’s double the number who have tested past versions of the desktop software. The new test versions won’t be shipped until June. Microsoft hasn’t set a definite release date for Office 2003 in order that, should any changes be necessary, the company has time to make them. Analysts predict that the new product won’t be released until sometime this fall.
April 28, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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