A Delaware federal judge has denied a Walt Disney Company appeal that claimed the studio giant holds a broad licence on 3D film patents acquired and later sold by bankrupt special effects company Digital Domain Media Group (DDMG), confirming that Disney’s rights to the technology are somewhat limited. DDMG was co-founded by 3D guru James […]
UK regulator Ofcom has revealed the organisations taking part in Europe’s first major pilot of ‘white space’ technology, which could help support the next wave of wireless innovation. The UK will be among the first countries in the world to road-test the technology. ‘White spaces’ exist in between frequency bands that have been reserved for […]
The UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the anticipated acquisition by Ericsson of broadcast services provider Red Bee Media Limited (RBM) to the Competition Commission (CC). After careful consideration, the OFT has found that the merger might lead to an increase in prices or a worsening of service levels in the supply of […]
Hundreds of illegal satellite dishes were destroyed over the weekend in the Iranian city of Shiraz when a government army tank crushed them to destruction. Despite the threat of confiscation, however, it is estimated that between 50-70 per cent of Iranian households own dishes, and thereby side-stepping the local rules forbidden access to foreign medi […]
Ofcom has today upheld an appeal by Playboy TV UK / Benelux Limited in relation to two decisions by the Authority for Television On Demand (ATVOD) – which is responsible for regulating the editorial content of certain on-demand programmes services On September 17th 2012, ATVOD determined that Playboy TV UK / Benelux Limited provided two […]
A report on ‘Supporting the creative economy’ from the UK parliament’s lower chamber Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee recognises the extraordinary success of the UK’s creative industries but warns that this may be jeopardised by any dilution of intellectual property rights and the failure to tackle online piracy. The Committee also “strongly condemns” the […]
A US District Court in California has denied a preliminary injunction application by Fox Broadcasting to block DISH’s Hopper and its DISH Anywhere and Hopper video transfer services. DISH’s EVP/General Counsel, R. Stanton Dodge, in a statement, said: “Today’s decision is the fourth in a string of victories for consumers related to our Hopper Whole-Home […]
A few days ago, Platco Digital, a new DTH operator over South Africa, said its OpenView service would be carrying South Africa’s Broadcasting Company’s (SABC) public channels when it goes live on October 15th. ‘Not so,’ implied SABC in a robust denial, saying that Platco doesn’t have the rights to transmit the channels. Platco Digital […]
The EC has ruled that state subsidies to extend DTT across the country are illegal and has given Spain a four month-period to pay back €260 million that the Spanish government approved in its financial aid scheme to deploy DTT. The EC has taken the decision on the grounds that technology neutrality was not respected […]
Italian public broadcaster RAI and its transmission unit Rai Way have won the first class action brought against them by a group of DTT subscribers. The case brought by 123 subscribers came before the Administrative Regional Court of Lazio. They demanded the repayment of three years of TV licence fee, i.e. from the start of […]