Digital content ownership ecosystem UltraViolet has been boosted by the ‘disc-to-digital initiative’ launched mid-April by US retail giant Walmart, according to senior industry executives and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. Speaking at Digital Hollywood in Marina Del Rey, California, NBC Universal digital distribution VP Michael Aaronson admitted to having made his first Electronic Sell Through […]
Virgin Media, the UK’s second-largest broadband provider, has become the first to block access to The Pirate Bay file sharing website after a High Court order. Virgin Media was one of five major broadband firms ordered to block the website on Monday after an application to the High Court by the BPI, a record industry […]
The UK High Court has ruled that Pirate Bay must be blocked by UK Internet service providers. Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media must all prevent their users from accessing the Swedish download directory site. “Sites like The Pirate Bay destroy jobs in the UK and undermine investment in new British artists,” BPI’s […]
The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual Special 301 report, which evaluates the state of intellectual property rights protection worldwide. The report highlights the ongoing challenge that online content theft poses to the continued growth of American creative industries. Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture […]
MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd, addressing CinemaCon 2012 – The Official Convention of The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) in Las Vegas – has underscored the importance of protecting creative content, and emphasised that all parties, in both the creative and tech communities, must work together to find a shared solution. He also […]
The UK’s Industry Trust for IP Awareness has launched the first Xbox advertising campaign with Microsoft Advertising and media planning and buying specialist Carat to promote the pro-copyright ‘Moments Worth Paying For’ campaign. Featured on an Xbox branded destination experience (BDE) – the Xbox equivalent of a microsite – the campaign encourages users to watch […]
The Australian High Court has dealt a damaging blow to the film industry with the dismissal of a copyright infringement appeal case against Internet Service Provider (ISP) iiNet in a landmark ruling. The High Court’s five judges unanimously dismissed the appeal. The court observed that iiNet “had no direct technical power” to prevent its customers […]
BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield, writing for the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival’s Future of Film blog, has suggested that forcing consumers to attend/pay for a movie in a theatre for the first three-four months of a film’s lifespan is increasingly archaic, with advances in display technology meaning the stage is set for the ‘home’ to become […]
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has told The Guardian that the entertainment industry is “shooting itself in the foot, or maybe worse than in the foot” by lobbying for legislation to block sites offering pirate material. According to Brin, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) bills championed by the film and […]
A further executive involved in the Australian pay-TV industry has denied allegations made by The Australian Financial Review about NDS’s conduct, reports The Australian. Former Foxtel chief technology officer Peter Smart – responsible for managing the pay-TV company’s contract with News Corporation subsidiary NDS – worked at the broadcaster from 1995 until last year, during […]