$1.5 Billion MP3 Fine Against Microsoft Struck Down
In the clearest sign yet that the landscape for patent infringement cases was altered significantly by the US Supreme Court, Judge Rudi Brewster of District Court in San Diego late yesterday tossed out a $1.5 billion jury verdict against Microsoft, partially overturning that verdict on one infringement count and remanding the second to a lower court for retrial.
As a result, the tide could be turning in favor of Fraunhofer Labs, the European licensee of the MP3 format. In the US, AT&T was considered the rightful patent holder for the format, based on the theory that it was the first to file in this country.
Xbox 360 Price Cuts Arrive Wednesday
Confirming earlier speculation, Microsoft on Tuesday announced price cuts on the Xbox 360 that will take effect tomorrow..
As rumored in late July, pricing on the Xbox Premium will be lowered by $50, the Elite by $30, and the Core system by $20. The new pricing places the three consoles at a price of $349, $449, and $279 USD, respectively.
'300' Sets Hi-Def Disc Sales Records
Warner Home Video said Tuesday that sales of "300" have reached 250,000, making it the fastest and highest-selling high-definition disc ever. All told, the studio has six of the 10 highest selling discs, and the highest grossing title in the BBC's "Planet Earth" series. The company also talked up the benefits at this juncture of supporting both HD formats, as opposed to the single format strategy that many studios have settled on.
30 percent of HD discs sold are from Warner, more than any other studio. However, the studio seemed to push both Blu-ray and HD DVD to keep lowering prices if they wish to continue expanding the market. "This phenomenal response to '300' is the latest proof that our approach makes the most sense in today's market and has enabled Warner Home Video to continue to lead the market in high definition sales," Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders said.
Fortune: Gates No Longer Richest Man
An era has come to an end, says Fortune, as Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man, according to the magazine's latest tally. Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim has surpassed the Microsoft founder with an estimated worth of $59 billion compared to Gates' $58 billion.
Of course, the passing of the torch won't officially come until Forbes publishes its annual list next year. The change is largely the result of Slim's public holdings gaining more than $12 billion this year; Slim owns America Movil, the largest cell phone company in Latin America, along with a number of banks and restaurant chains. Gates has also been giving away more of his money to charitable causes, while Slim says he helps best by creating wealth and jobs through his own companies.
Nokia Shines Light on 'Prism' Phones
Nokia on Tuesday introduced two new style-oriented handsets that will only be available in Europe initially. The phones fall under what the company is calling its "Prism Collection," featuring triangle-shaped buttons and light-refracting colors.
The Nokia 7900 is the top-of-the-line Prism model, and includes an anodized aluminium backcover and an Organic LED display on the front. Users can choose from 49 different illumination colors that come from under the keys and around the display.
Google Joins OIN, Agrees Not to Sue Linux Developers
Google said Tuesday it has joined the Open Invention Network (OIN), and in the process pledged not to assert its patents against other Linux developers in the organization. OIN essentially serves as a clearing house for cross-licensing patents, and counts IBM, Oracle and Sony as members.
Since its inception, Google has utilized Linux to build the largest search engine in the world. Now, the company says it feels "a strong responsibility to the Linux community, and we’re always looking for creative ways to put our resources in the hands of Linux developers." Hundreds of Google employees have submitted patches to the Linux operating system, and the company has open-sourced over a million lines of its own code.
YouTube Copyright Lawsuit Grows
Members of the National Music Publishers Association said Tuesday that they planned to join a lawsuit against YouTube over copyright infringement, signaling more legal trouble for Google's video site.
The original lawsuit was filed by British Soccer organization Premier League in May, and sought class-action status. Since then, music publisher Bourne has joined, and Robert Tur, owner of the Los Angeles News Service also plans to join the suit shortly.
Service Site for Xbox 360 Goes Live
Microsoft has opened a special Web site to help customers track their Xbox 360 repairs, which follows last month's 3-year warranty extension that was made due to high failure rates for the Redmond company's flagship game console.
From the site, customers can register their Xbox, schedule a repair, and track the status of the entire process. For now, the service appears only to be open for those in the United States, but Microsoft's warranty extension does apply worldwide. According to some reports, as many as 3 out of every 10 Xbox 360 units had some sort of problem.
Can DRM-Free MP3 Tracks Bail Out EMI Music?
The first real test of the viability of DRM-free music sales came this past quarter, as investors monitored whether EMI Music's recent arrangements with Apple and Amazon to sell unlocked tracks on their services at a premium, would lift the publisher out of its financial doldrums. The news this quarter is mixed: While the reaction to the move appears strongly positive from consumers, the publisher's conventional businesses are sinking at too fast a rate.
In its preliminary quarterly report issued this morning, EMI Music said that revenues from digital music sales increased 26% over the previous quarter, while revenue from its physical music sales declined by 19.8%. If that were the final score, it would sound like a win for digital. It's not, since physical sales constitutes a greater share of the overall business: After adjusting for inflation, EMI Music's total revenues declined by 5.1%.
Labor Day Deadline Set for Webcasters' Royalties Negotiations
Last week, the US Senate's chief sponsors of the Internet Radio Equality Act vowed to push for its expedited approval, if broadcasters and the SoundExchange performance rights organization haven't reached a compromise agreement by the time the Senate returns from its summer recess on Labor Day (September 3).
As Sens. Ron Wyden (D - Ore.) and Sam Brownback (R - Kan.) jointly stated, they're fully aware now of what appears to be a plan by the PRO to leverage a planned $500 USD minimum annual royalty fee per channel to apply to each stream or playlist a Webcasting service generates. Literally, each Pandora channel generated for a user could carry a $500 USD fee.
80GB PS3 Hits Stores, 60GB PS3 Sees Sales Surge
Sony on Monday announced the immediate availability of the 80GB PlayStation 3 model, offering a free copy of off-road racing game MotorStorm to all buyers of the $599 USD game console. The new PS3 is nearly identical to the discontinued 60GB model, but features a larger hard drive and lacks the "Emotion Engine" chip used for supporting older PS2 titles.
Sony has dropped the price of the 60GB PS3 to $499 while supplies remain, and the company says the lower cost has brought about "a surge in sales." According to Sony, retail sales of the 60GB PS3 have jumped 113% compared to the four weeks prior to the price drop. Inventory of the 60GB PS3 is expected to be depleted by the fall, Sony added.
California Revokes Four Voting Machine Certifications
Following last week's report by University of California, Davis engineers on the integrity -- or lack thereof -- of electronic voting machines used in statewide elections, the California Secretary of State late last week revoked the approval of systems from Diebold, Hart InterCivic, Sequoia, and Elections Systems and Software, Inc. Manufacturers now each have 30 days to come up with a plan for how they intend to harden their systems' internal configuration security, and 45 days for a network security hardening plan, before their systems can be submitted for re-approval for use in next February's presidential primary.
Among the findings Sec. of State Debra Bowen cited in her proclamations this morning was this: "The Diebold Red Team members [from UC Davis], with access only to the Windows operating system on the Diebold GEMS election management server supplied to Diebold and without requiring access to Diebold source code, were able to access the Diebold voting system server software and to corrupt the election management system database, which could result in manipulated voter totals or the inability to read election results, rendering an election impossible to complete electronically."
Time Warner Asks for Help in Texas Copper Theft
Time Warner is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in a suspected copper theft in Texas.
The company said that someone vandalized the fiber-optic lines in conduits that ran through the I-35 underpass near the Trinity River in Dallas. The incidents occurred on June 19 and July 24, officials say.
Did Yahoo Knowingly Turn Over a Customer to the Chinese Police?
Last week, members of the human rights organization Dui Hua Foundation presented evidence to Congress that Yahoo expeditiously complied with a Chinese state request for information on a citizen the government later sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for inciting rebellion. On Friday, Rep. Tom Lantos (D - Calif.) responded to Dui Hua's evidence by opening a formal investigation.
Yahoo's apparent compliance with China's request for e-mails from Wang Xiaoning's account may not have been illegal under US law. However, in the Washington Post last weekend, Rep. Lantos suggested that a Yahoo official's testimony before Congress in February 2006 may have been false. At that time, Yahoo General Counsel Michael Callahan suggested that, while Yahoo complied with the Chinese government's request, it had no knowledge of China's intentions - and perhaps no interest as well.
NASA to Use Microsoft Photosynth for Shuttle Launch
Microsoft said Monday that it had partnered with NASA to give an unprecedented look at the Endeavour Shuttle launch through Photosynth, its platform that uses standard camera images to create navigable 3D views. 360 degree views of the shuttle boosters, Vehicle Assembly Building, and launchpad will be available, NASA and Microsoft said.
MSNBC, a joint partnership between NBC and Microsoft, will also provide additional multimedia surrounding the launch, as well as linking back to the Photosynth collections. "This collaboration with Microsoft gives the public a new way to explore and participate in America's space program," NASA Space Operations Associate Administrator William Gerstenmaier said. He added that the technology could be used for future missions.
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