ST (p.B10) reported that Innoform Entertainment had disclaimed its involvement in the move to levy royalties on karaoke operators and that the demand for royalties came from Compass. Innoform said that it had sent out letters to its licensees to explain this. Its president, Nancy Seah added that she did not know why Compass was asserting this right now. Late last month, Compass had written to more than 300 karaoke establishments informing them that they did not have legal permission to copy the music and lyrics of original compositions onto their servers.
TODAY (p.8) noted that karaoke operators were given until Oct 1 to pay outstanding copyright fees for using music videos in their business. It also quoted Nancy Seah who said that the contract that Innoform has with karaoke operators stated that it does not include any musical works.
MyPaper (p.A2 & A21), CNA and Ch 8 News carried similar reports.
ZB (p.8) noted that users of pirated Windows XP will experience black screens on their monitors with no start menus or taskbars to work with, as part of Microsoft's latest intiative to fight piracy. The Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications programme enables users to validate that the copy of Windows XP installed on their computers is genuine and properly licensed.
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ZBNow (pg 9) reported that Warner Brothers is pressing charges against Mirchi Movies, a Bombay-based film company which is releasing a film titled "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors". Warner Brothers claimed that the pronunciation of "Hari Puttar" is very close to that of "Harry Potter". It also claimed that the main character in the Indian movie was also similar to Harry Potter.
TNP (p.9) reported that BayTSP, the company that was hired by Odex and Japanese anime companies to track down illegal downloaders, is in talks with several more but declined to name the companies. The article said that some netizens have been asked to pay settlements of up to $6,000 each for their illegal downloads.
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Yahoo! News reported that GraphOn has sued Google for infringing on GraphOn's method of maintaining automated and network-accessible database.
Baltimoresun.com reported that a fledgling website called Mygazines.com encourages people to copy and upload magazines that are currently on the newstands. Visitors can read high-quality digital copies of People, The Economist etc in entirety. Several magazines said that they are aware of the site and considering legal action.
Financialexpress.com reported that 3 indian drug manufacturers have been sue by pharma companies in the US so far in August. Companies like Dr Reddy's Labs and Orchid Chemicals were sue by Swiss drug major Roche while Sun Pharma was sued by Canadian Bioavail Labs. In 2007 generics accounted for 67% of the US market up from 63% in 2006. In 2008, drugs worth $20 billion will lose patent protection as per IMS data and $130 billion of prescription pills will go off patent by 2012.
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ST (p. D10) reported that Singapore company Trek2000 has won top honours at the Republic's first convention for local inventors.
ST (p. D11) reported that a handful of local researchers have formed companies with Made-in-Singapore labels that have successfully span the globe. Dr Ting Choon Meng was one of the local researchers who created a watch that monitors blood pressure and other inventions. He went on to start several successful biomedical firms on the back of his invention.
ZB (p. P3) reported that for their works, music composers and lyricists own the mechanical rights for CDs and DVDs and performance rights for karaoke, performances on tv, radio, stage etc. The royalties for song performances charged by COMPASS and various comments by karaoke operators, composers and lyricists on how reasonable are these royalties were provided.
BT (p. 23) reported that Pandora, the US most popular web radio, may be on the verge of collapse due to royalty payments, and this maybe the situation faced by many other web radio operators too. Last year, an obscure federal panel ordered a doubling of the per song performance royalty that web radio stations pay to performers and record companies. In contrast, traditional radio pays no such fee whereas satellite radio pays a fee but at a less onerous rate.
BT (p.33) reported that US Court of Appeals has ruled that software developers who give away the programming code for their works can sue for copyrights infringement if someone misappropriates that material. The decision helps clarify a murky area of law concerning how much control programmers yield over their IP rights once it has been released for free into the open source software community.
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ST (p.B14) reported that with the growth of online social networks, gaming communities and internet forums, cyberbullying is now prevalent online. A ST survey of 100 teens showed that all had some encounter with online bullying in one way or another. A third of the respondents said they had been victims of persistent online attacks.
ST (p.B4) reported that the movie industry has jumped into action with measures to counter unauthorised cinema recording taking effect today. These include teaching cinema staff how to spot unauthorised recording of movies and running cinema trailers and posters warning patrons against such activities. The Motion Picture Association said that the industry's concern is that these unauthorised recordings would be used by piracy syndicates to make bootleg DVDs, or be sold to other syndicates for the same purpose. Another worry is that the recordings would end up on Internet file-sharing networks. No recorded-in-Singapore clips have been linked to the commercial bootleg industry, although the MPA found a copy of the movie Garfield circulating online in 2006. It had been recorded at a Shaw cinema here. A lawyer who declined to be named said that the authorities could face an uphill battle getting the charges to stick. Short of a confession or other supporting evidence, he said, it could be tough to show 'intent', that is, to prove that the person making the recording planned to distribute it online or was part of a syndicate that was going to turn the clip into DVDs. And while it is possible to sue individuals for owning pirated materials, he said, it 'doesn't make economic sense'.
ST (p.B6) reported on ZB’s news yesterday that the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (Compass) sent out letters to over 300 karaoke establishments islandwide late last month, asking that they pay royalties to the music composers and lyricists for the songs in their collections. A sidebar noted that the right to reproduce songs belted out in karaoke bars is divided into two categories: copyrights to the lyrics and music which are held by composers and lyricists, and copyrights to the singers' vocal and video recordings which are owned by record labels. Entertainment company Innoform collects these royalties on behalf of 10 record companies in Singapore.
TNP (p.2-3) reported that 40 pub operators and suppliers of karaoke-on-demand (KOD) systems marched into the Commercial Affairs Dept two days ago. They wanted to lodge a complaint against Innoform Entertainment, a licensing agency which sold them the rights to copy "music videos" into their KOD systems. They had understood that the licence they bought from Innoform included the composer's rights, which they were now being asked to pay for.
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ZB (p.2) reported that 40 local karaoke operators had filed their complaint with CAD that the licence fees paid for the use of the Karaok-On-Demand (KOD) system does not include royalty fees for song compositions. The sole agent of the KOD system is InnoForm Entertainment Pte Ltd. Other karaoke operators are seeking their lawyers' assistance to contact COMPASS to discuss how to solve this issue.
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ZB (p.4) reported that COMPASS had sent letters to 300 karaoke operators, pointing out that any duplication of song recordings from the Karaoke-on-Demand (KOD) system without any approval from COMPASS is an infringement of copyright laws. The sole agent of the KOD system is InnoForm Entertainment Pte Ltd. COMPASS also warned the operators that it would confiscate the equipment if they do not take actions within seven days of receiving the letter. It was noted that some operators were going to file a complaint to the Commercial Affairs Department as they were unhappy that the licence fees paid for the use of the KOD system does not include royalty fees for song compositions.
ST Digital Life (p.4) reported that Google is offering free music downloads in China. It launched Music Onebox, a beta version only accessible in China. Baidu.com, the Chinese cyber powerhouse, dominates the local search and online market with free music downloads. Google poses a challenge coming at a time when Baidu is in trouble for piracy. Music labels want Baidu to pay royalty fees.
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BT (p.11) reported that apart from coming up with good designs, the entrepreneur in a design-related business has to grapple with funding and market challenges. It reported that even for a forerunner in the design industry like seven-year old Stikfas (a local toy company) getting loans from banks has not been easy. Mr Ban, Stikfas's chairman lamented that application process for grants from statutory boards like Sping and EDB can be slow and most of the time, the company had to come up with the money first. Mr Ban added that "Whether they reimburse you for the project is subject to approval."
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My Paper (Thur, 7 Aug, p.B12) reported that clones of Facebook have appeared in PRC websites with copycat content and look and feel. Facebook, which launched its chinese version in June this year, said that they are monitoring the situation and will not rule out taking future legal action against such clones.
TODAY (Wed, 6 Aug, p.10) carried a public education advertisement on illegal file sharing by HIP Alliance.
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TODAY (p.B6) reported that Aalst Chocolate, a company which counts bakeries, ice-cream makers among its customers has a proper documentation for new creations and IP clauses in employment contracts. It has trademarked its brand, filed patents for its products, including the designs of certain chocolate fillings and decorations. It has also engaged a consultant, supported by funding from IE Singapore, to conduct an IP audit and help put policies in place.
TODAY (p.B6) reported on IE Singapore's BrandPact scheme which was used to re-brand West Point Hospital in Taman Jurong. A summary on IE Singapore's 'IP for Internationalisation" and "Design for Internationalisation" incentives is provided in the article.
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BT (p.12) reported on IPOS’s Multiclass Trade Mark Application System and the Search and Pick Online Tool which aims to make trademark applications and management of trademarks simpler and easier.
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ST Mon (p.H18) Ernst & Young LLP has sued Enterpreneur Media over claims that the magazine publisher violated a trademark for its "Enterpreneur of the Year" award. Entrepreneur Magazine's 2008 contest which uses the slogan, is a knock-off of Ernst & Young's annual "Entrepreneur of the Year" prize, according to an infringement complaint filed last Monday in a federal court in New York. Ernst and Young's is seeking damages and a court order barring the publisher's use of the slogan.
ST Sat (p.W46) Mr George Lucas's film company sued designer Andrew Ainsworth - who sculpted the Storm trooper helmets for the first Star Wars film in 1977 - for copyright infringement. It claimed the design of the Stormtroopers was created by Mr Lucas and his artisitic team and was already in place by the time Mr Ainsworth was hired to create the helmets. The London High Court judge ruled that Mr Ainsworth did violate Lucasfilm's US copyright by selling replica Stormtrooper uniforms through his website to customers in the US. But he refuesed to enforce in Britain a US$20 million judgement Lucasfilm won against Mr Ainsworth in a California court in 2006 saying that Mr Aimsworth's US sales were not huge enough to make him susceptible to US jurisdiction. The judge also rejected a counter-claim by Mr Ainsworth that the copyright rested with him.
An ST Sat commentary (p.S18) set out the reasons why Hasbro, which owns the rights to Scrabble in North America, may not necessarily have a strong intellectual property rights infringement case against the Agarwalla brothers who created Scrabulous - an online version of the Scrabble game. The writer also felt that Scrabulous has brought Scrabble global publicity at zero dollar cost to Hasbro. It should be feting, not bullying, the Agarwalla brothers.
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ZB (p.12) reported that the police had arrested four Singaporean men in connection with a syndicate selling $1.28 million worth of fake designer clothes. The police conducted an islandwide raid in areas such as Clementi, Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Chinatown, Orchard Road and Marine Parade the day before, confiscating over 42,000 pieces of illegal items.
ST (p.4) on 31 July also reported on this raid.