ST's Digital Lift (p.3) Six of Britain's biggest Internet service providers (ISPs) have pledged to fight online piracy among their subscribers. They will send letters to hardcore uploaders and downloaders of pirated music and films, warning them that their activities are being monitored.
CNet News reported that the software industry is telling eBay that it needs to do more to detect and delete listings for counterfeit goods or they would be contemplating a lawsuit against eBay. Another option, the group said would be lobbying the US Congress to rewrite the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and make online auctioneers liable for what is sold.
NYtimes.com reported that Oracle sued SAP, the German software maker in March 2007 accusing its TomorrowNow software maintenance services business of illegally using customer log-ins to steal copyrighted materials from Oracle's website. Oracle said last month the damages it seeks from SAP could top $1 billion.
TNP (p.19) reported that Warner Bros had devoted six months to an unprecedented anti-piracy strategy, painstakingly locking down The Dark Knight as it moved from production to post-production to cinemas, for fear that pirated copies would pop up on the Internet during the film's crucial opening weekend. Warner varied the shipping and delivery methods, staggering the delivery of film reels so that the entire movie would arrive at mutiplexes in one shipment. It also conducted spot checks on hundreds of theatres domestically and abroad to ensure that illegal videographing was not taking place. It even handed out night-vision goggles to exhibitors in Australia to scan the audience for the telltale infrared signal of a video recorder.
BT SME Inc (p.12) carried a commentary describing the protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights, registered designs and trade secrets in Singapore.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TNP Sun (p.8) reported that in the last couple of months, the flea market at Sungei Road has emerged as the new haven for hawkers of illegal video discs. And many of them still hawk their stuff despite repeated police action, including a raid which took place on Wednesday. When contacted, the police said they were aware of the illegal activity at the market, and 'have been conducting frequent enforcement actions' there. The police said they arrested three Bangladeshi men for possession and distribution of uncensored pornographic material, and seized 300 discs.They added: 'We'll need the cooperation and support of the public in our fight against piracy and other related illegal activities. The public is advised to refrain from supporting such illegal activities and to call us at 999 if they come across them.'
TNP (p.11) reported that pirates have turned to cyberspace to hawk their illegal wares. A search on local auction sites and online classifieds revealed at least 20 listings for pirated games, mostly for Sony's Playstation Portable. Some listings offered pirated games, while other promised to modify the buyer's console to play these illegal copies. Many even provide a link to their own websites, where they list all the games they had for sale. Online auction sites and classifieds here are aware of the problem. Yahoo! Southeast Asia said the company investigates reported listings on its auction site on a case-by-case basis and any illegal products are given the boot. But Mr Cyril Chua, counsel for Entertainment Software Alliance, said it can take a lot of effort to track down just one pirate.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSJA (p.6) reported that Nokia has agreed to settle a patent dispute with Qualcomm through a 15-year agreement that involves the company making an upfront payment as well as ongoing royalties to Qualcomm. The two companies have been squabbling in court since the 2001 patent-licensing agreement between them expired in April 2007, causing Nokia to stop making royalty payments to Qualcomm, a chipmaker.
TODAY (p.30) reported that a government-backed scheme is targetting the worst of the estimated 6.5 million involved in illicit file-sharing of music and films. One sanction being considered is to disconnect those who ignore warning letters sent to their homes. ISPs and film and music companies are expected to draw up a code of practice on how they propose to deal with infringements, and the government will then consider how this can be backed with legislation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters.com The German Federal Patent Court ruled on Wednesday that a Qualcomm GSM patent asserted in a case against Nokia was invalid. The two companies have been involved in legal dispute since failing to renew a technology license pact that that expired on April 9, 2007. A key court case to solve the row starts later on Wednesday in Delaware. Analysts estimate that Nokia pays around $500 million a year for the use of Qualcomm patents and it wants to reduce the sum. Qualcomm says Nokia can continue to pay the same rate of almost 5 percent of phone prices, but Nokia says the rate should be less as it has now free license to Qualcomm's early patents for which it paid $1 billion over 15 years.
Reuters.com Internet television service Joost and Chinese media conglomerate TOM Group will launch a joint venture on Wednesday to court viewers in China, even as the government tightens restrictions on such services.The venture will offer Chinese-language programming over the Internet and has launched the site at joost.tom.com with 16,000 hours of content licensed from local creators including CCTV, China Record Corp, BTV Media, CAV Warner Home Entertainment and Huayi Brothers Media Group.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST A popular Chinese singer has won what is reportedly the country's first karaoke copyright infringement case against a Shanghai-based bar chain, a state media agency reported on Tuesday. The singer's management company won the case against Haoledi Entertainment Company, one of China's leading karaoka bar chains.
ST According to a global piracy study conducted in 2005 by LEK Consulting for the Motion Picture Association, the movie piracy rates in Malaysia and Thailand were 91 and 70 per cent respectively, compared to Singapore's 50 per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters.com reported that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit uphelad a summary judgement by a New York court that found Japan's Eisai Co Ltd's patent for Aciphex, an acid reflux drug, was valid. It also ruled that Israel's Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd infringed on Eisai's patent based on the fact that the two filed an abbreviated new drug application or ANDA, seeking to manufacture a generic version of Aciphex.
ZDNet Asia wrote Motorola is suing a former executive now employed by Apple's iPhone sales division, charging him with the theft of trade secrets. Motorola claimed the former employee was using his knowledge of Motorola's business practices and strategies to harm Motorola and benefit Apple.
The New Paper (Mon) reported that movie pirates have become tech savvier- they no longer peddle DVDs but digital media files which can be downloaded illegally via the Internet. In Thailand, they are known to operate from multipurpose vehicles and using a laptop can burn DVDs on the spot after customers select the titles.
The Economist (p.16,19-25 Jul issue) reported that companies are increasingly turning piracy to their advantage. For example, BigChampagne, the main music-data analyser is extending its monitoring service to pirated video because knowing which TV programmes are being most widely passed around online can help broadcasters when negotiating with advertisers or planning schedule. The article also noted the piracy can help to open new markets. Microsoft admitted unofficially that tolerating piracy of its products has given it a huge market share and will boost revenues in the long term because users stick with Microsoft's products when they go legit.
ST Digital Life (p.3) reported that Apple has filed a suit against Psystar, maker of Macintosh clones that have been on sale since May. Apple claims that Psystar had breached its trademark agreements by selling non-Apple hardware that can run modified versions of the Mac OS X Leopard operating system. It wants Psystar to stop selling the computers and recall all machines already sold. The industry is anticipating the results of the case as it will not have to worry about unauthorised sales of Mac OS X again if Apple wins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today (Sat) reported that SunSoul, a Canadian company has developed a patent-pending fabric that can transmit the sun's "healthy" rays and yet prevents the harmful UV rays from being transmitted onto skin.
ST Mon (p1) wrote that more Singaporeans are turning to the Net for TV serials and movies. The availability of entertainment online is being fuelled by the television networks who are making more and more of their content available online in their fight to stamp out piracy.
BT (Mon) reported that Facebook sued the German company StudiVZ Ltd claiming its online network for students copied Facebook's design, functionality and features.
BT (Mon) reported that Trek intends to set up an in-house IP management team to help combat IP infringements,manage its patent-filing operations more cost effectively and eventually grow its licensing business.
TNP Sun (p.2-3) reported on the new hide-and-seek world of DVD piracy in Johor Baru with its elaborate hidden showrooms. And to attract more Singapore delivery orders, the pirates charge as little as RM8 a disc, with a minimum order of 20 titles. And there are further discounts for loyal customers who buy in bulk.
TNP Sun (p.4) reported that some movie pirates no longer peddle DVDs but digital media files, which are downloaded illegally via the Internet. A number of pirates in China are already doing a brisk business of selling digital video files to their customers. All the customers need to do is to hand over a portable hard drive to the pirates, select the movies, and the files will be downloaded on the spot. It costs about $1 for a movie and 10 cents for each episode of a television series. Mr Edward Neubronner, MPA director of operations, Asia-Pacific, said that they operate from multi-purpose vehicles. Last year, MPA working with regional authorities conducted 13,000 raids and seized 31 million pirated movies in the Asia-Pacific region. But efforts by the authorities have seen encouraging results. Shopping malls, such as Holiday Plaza in Johor Baru, Malaysia, and Sim Lim Square in Singapore are now 'clean as a whistle'.
TNP Sat (p.26) reported that Mattel Inc, Barbie's makers, won a copyright infringement case against rival MGA Entertainment Inc over which toymaker owns the original drawings for the US$1 billion-plus Bratz fashion doll francise. The jury found that the creator of Bratz created their characters and the name while he was under contract as a Barbie designer at Mattel. MGA lost the rights to all drawings and "sculpts" of the Bratz.
ST Review (p.16) wrote about the recent incident where YouTube was made to hand over its viewer logs to Viacom in a US$1 billion copyright lawsuit. In line with US privacy protection law, only anonymised viewer logs, without the IP addresses or users’ names, were handed over to the media giant. The editorial contrasted the situation with the recent Odex case in Singapore. It wrote that the Japanese animation studios’ success in court seemed to make it clear that those who access copyrighted online content cannot claim a right to privacy.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washingtonpost.com reported that EU regulators on Wednesday ordered music copyrights groups to end a system hindering online music stores from buying EU wide licenses - - helping Apple's iTunes's rollout across Europe. Music rights are currently sold separately in each European country which has prevented iTunes from setting up a single store to service all of Europe. Instead it has had to seek licenses from each EU member state. The European Commission also told music copyright groups -- also called collecting societies - to end a system that allows artists to collect payments only from an agency based in their country. The change should help users get EU wide broadcast licenses for the Internet, cable televison and satellite for several countries by using just one collecting society of their choice. Regulators said they want the national collecting societies to compete across Europe, adding that having to prove the quality of their services should make them more efficicent.
Asiaone reported that under EU plans adopted on Wednesday, copyright for musicians and singers is being extended to 95 year from 50 years, assuring Cliff and other ageing rockers of continued royalties on songs recorded in the early part of their careers. For composers, copyright protection will continue to run until 70 years after death. The proposal needs approval from EU governments and the European Parliament to take effect.
BT (p42) reported that within the next year, Singaporeans should be able to buy music from Universal Music's catalogue off the internet that they can play and transfer freely. Currently, Nokia'sMusic Store and Motorola's Soundbuzz, the 2 mainstream online music stores open to Singaporeans only sell music with digital rights management which meant that users can only burn them into CDs a limited number of times.
BT reported that in the global market, where competition often drive rivals to underhand practices like copying and piracy, companies must take steps to protect their business with strong and strategic IP management which will enable them to enter into collaborations with overseas partners, consider licensing and franchising as profitable business models,secure financing using the value of their IP as well as reinforce their competitive advantage and enforce IP rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo Tech News reported that Apple has filed a copyright infringement suit against Psystar, a Miami-based company that for the past several weeks has been selling Macintosh clones, apparently in direct violation of Apple's software license.
ST reported that the US federal court ordered Google, which owns YouTube to reveal to Viacom, owner of move studio Paramount and MTV network, the viewing habits of everyone who has used the online video site. Google reached an agreement with Viacom to provide a viewership database that had the YouTube username and internet address data blanked out.
AsiaOne also reported the same.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"eBay beats Tiffany in court case over trademarks"
Yahoo News reported their tat eBay scored an important victory in court on Monday when federal court said companies such as jeweller Tiffany is reponsible for policing their trademarks online, not auction platforms like eBay.
AsiaOne also reported the same.
ST reported that YouTube will be allowed to mask the identities of individual users when it provides viewership records to Viacom and other copyright holders behind a US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) copyright-infringement lawsuit.
AsiaOne also reported the same.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST (Sat) reported that a group of local inventors have formed a society to help fellow Singaporeans who want to turn their ideas into money-spinners.
Sunday’s ST reported that Singaporean and Malaysian authorities joined forces to smash a pirated DVD syndicate recently. It noted that Singaporeans must learn how to respect intellectual property rights. Until they do so, the problem of piracy should cannot be easily stamped out, and Singapore should persuade Malaysia to continue to work together to keep it in check here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMPUTERWORLD Fri. reported that Gotuit Media, a video software developer, sued Microsoft, claiming that its Silverlight multimedia software infringed several of the company's patents. Released last year, Silverlight is Microsoft's alternative to the Flash and QuickTime multimedia formats. Heavily promoted by Microsoft, it lets Windows users watch video or animated graphics through their browsers.
Saturday’s ST (p.4) reported that an internet start-up, Record TV, is suing MediaCorp over online recordings of TV shows that Web users can download. RecordTV runs a website that allows users to download free-to-air programmes and store them on online database. MediaCorp had initially threatened to sue the company for possible copyright infringements. RecordTV then sued MediaCorp saying that the media company’s threat had cost it $30.5m in revenue and research grants.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ST's Digital Life reported that eBay said it would appeal against a Fernch court's order to pay 38.6 million euros(S$83.3 million) in damages to French luxury goods company LVMH. LVMH argued that 90% of the Louis Vitton bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fakes.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Todayonline reported that the US District Court Judge Louis Stanton backed Viacom's request for data on which YouTube users watch which videos on the website. The data contains potential evidence to be used during a billion-dollar copyright suit against Google, which Viacom accuses as a willing accomplice to Internet users that put clips of Viacom's copyrighted television programs on YouTube. Google said that it is disappointed at the courts decision as it infringes the users privacy. However, Google shields itself with 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act, US legislation that says internet firms are not responsible for what Internet users put on websites.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Todayonline reported that IBM had bought over Platform Solutions Inc., acquiring its California rival's technology and ending lawsuits which the firms had filed against each other. PSI and IBM were suing one another in federal court in New York state, where IBM is based. IBM accused PSI of violating its patented technology in plug-in mainframe computers. PSI counter-sued, accusing IBM of trying to lock-up the market by refusing to license critical software to other companies.
Channelnewsasia.com reported that visitors hoping to stock up on China's infamous array of counterfeit goods when they come to Beijing for the Olympics may be disappointed, with authorities carrying out a pre-Games crackdown on supply of counterfeit DVDs and fashion accessories. Piracy of copyrighted products is a traditional irritant among China's trading partners, who have long accused Beijing of failing to curb an industry that foreign firms say costs them billions of dollars in lost sales each year.
MYPAPER (p.B8) carried a similar report.
The Business Times (p.10-11) reported that when Terence Swee, founder and chief executive of the homegrown software firm, muvee, decided to launch his software six years ago,instead of following the norm by starting small locally, he dived straight into the biggest market which is the US once his key patents were filed. His bold move paid off, as apart from Singapore, muvee has offices in Seoul, Tokyo, Silicon Valley and New York with 99 percent of his sales not coming from Singapore.
The Business Times (p.29) reported that within the next few months Nokia handsets with the 'comes with music' label, consumers can enjoy a one-year musical buffet and have access to a smorgasbord of songs that they can download onto their phones. At the end of the 12-month period, users will be allowed to keep their downloaded tracks for playback on their computers, or they can also be transferred to other Nokia devices. Nokia's music foray received a further boost when Warner Music became the second major record company to put its weight behind the firm's mobile music movement, following its earlier tie-up with UMG (Universal Music Group).
MYPAPER (p.A17) carried a similar report.
Mypaper (p.A16) reported that a French court ordered eBay to pay US$61m to LVMH, parent of the Louis Vuitton and Dior brands, for failing to properly monitor auctions. In the United States, a federal judge is due to rule on whether it is the responsibility of eBay or plaintiff Tiffany & Co to police the site for fake Tiffany diamonds. The commentary said that the US courts have largely taken the position that it is the trademark owner's responsibility to establish which goods sold online are counterfeit. Under this view, web services like eBay that act as middlemen are protected as long as they act quickly to remove fake items. eBay says it has already upped its spending on people and technology to try to keep counterfeit items off its site.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today (p.19) featured an advertisment by IPOS with a focus on careers in the Technology Transfer Office. This is the third in the series of advertorials on IP careers.
Todayonline reported that PopTok, a company originating from Israeli, had begun its invitation only testing for a software that weaves snippets from memorable films or hot music videos into instant messages and email. One-liners such as Denzel Washington saying: "I'd love to talk to you" or Charlie Sheen bidding someone "Good morning" can be dropped into conversations. PopTok has licensed memorable television, film, and music video one-liners from partners including Sony, Universal, Warner and Paramount studios. PopTok streams its video to people's computers, therefore, alleviating studio concerns about piracy because none of the data is downloaded or stored by recipients.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Straits Times (p.19) featured and advertisment by the IPacademy on IP seminars and courses from July 2008 to March 2009.
MYPAPER (p.A10) reported that EMI is targeting social network sites such as Hi5 and video advertising startup VideoEgg for infringing on the copyrights of pop songs owned by them.
cnetNews.com reported that Daniel Dove, an administrator of the peer-to-peer file sharing site EliteTorrents.org has been convicted of copyright infringement with the help of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). In 2005, Homeland Security agents from several divisions served search warrants on 10 people around the country suspected of being involved with the Elite Torrents site, and took over the group's main server. According to prosecutors, EliteTorrents attracted more than 125,000 members and assisted in the illegal distribution of about 700 movies, which were downloaded more than 1.1 million times. Dove led a group of "uploaders" that supplied pirated content to the group, as well as recruiting members with ultra-fast broadband connections to become uploaders.
MYPAPER (P.A10) carried a similar report.
marketing-interactive.com 27June reported that the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Philippines served its first temporary restraining order against a pirate cable operator - Turtle Cable for copyright infringement.
Asian Wall Street Journal (p.4) said that several tech-industry heavyweights are banding together to defend themselves against patent-infringement lawsuits. Their plan: to buy up key IP before it falls into the hands of parties that could use it against them, said sources. Verizon Communications, Google Inc, Cisco Systems, Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson and Hewlett Packard are among the companies that have joined a group calling itself Allied Security Trust. AWSJ cited the high-profile patent case involving Blackberry maker Research In Motion's multimillion dollar settlement in 2006 with a small firm that held patents related to wireless email delivery. These tech firms are also worried about the number of companies that have emerged in recent years with a business model based on acquiring IP and using it as leverage to extract royalties from companies whose products or services rely on that technology. Critics call them "patent trolls". The new Allied Security Trust aims to buy patents that others might use to bring infringement claims against its members. Companies will pay roughly $250,000 to join the group and will each put about $5m into escrow with the organisation, to go toward future patent purchases.
The Straits Times (p.20) reported that French luxury brand LVMH won its suit against eBay after a court ordered the Internet auctioneer to pay damages amounting to 40 million euros for selling fake goods online. The issue is said to have potential to complicate online commerce. eBay said that it was appealing and rejected the view that the court decision was a victory for copyright law. It said that it has stepped up efforts to fight counterfeits through programmes that analyse suspicious sales patterns by its vendors and by using VeRO, or verified rights owners, a system that helps block sales of counterfeit goods.