Celador’s long-running legal action with The Walt Disney Company is finally over, with the US’ 9th Circuit Appeal Court denying Disney any prospect of extending its slew of appeals against a previous verdict. That verdict awarded $319 million to Celador International for licensing breaches by Disney concerning Celador’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” quiz […]
India’s New Delhi government is to double customs duties on imported set-top boxes in an attempt to promote local production and sales of digital converter boxes. The new tax is set at 10 per cent, and was outlined by India’s finance minister in his budget speech. The problem, however, is that India’s local manufacturing scene […]
Jill Lesser, Executive Director of the US’s Center for Copyright Information (CCI) – a collaborative effort between content creators in the movie and music industries and leading IPSs to help educate the public and deter copyright infringement – has confirmed the implementation phase of the Copyright Alert System (CAS). In a Blog Post, Lesser says […]
Cable MSO Cablevision is suing Viacom over the number of channels Viacom requires Cablevision to carry in order to maintain supply. Cablevision says the way the channels are bundled is illegal. Time Warner and DirecTV are supporting Cablevision’s action. Cablevision has launched its action in a Manhattan court arguing that some 14 of Viacom’s channels, […]
The EU says it will take treaty powers to force through plans to create a single market for mobile services. Neelie Kroes, Europe’s digital commissioner, told MWC in Barcelona that she will ‘outline an “action plan” to put the region at the heart of the mobile industry it established and once dominated.’ She says there […]
Germany’s competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt has formally confirmed that it has prohibited plans by cable MSO Kabel Deutschland Holding (KDG) to acquire cable network operator Tele Columbus. KDG revealed February 18 that the Bundeskartellamt had judged KDG’s proposed divestment of network assets as insufficient to overcome its concerns. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, said […]
Not for the first time, the BBC has condemned satellite and wireless jamming of its signals. Peter Horrocks, global news director for the BBC’s World Service, again criticised the jamming of the BBC’s Persian service, but has now added China to its list of problem nations. Horrocks said that its World Service shortwave broadcasts to […]
European fibre to the home (FTTH) deployment continues to grow steadily, but the gap between the leaders and laggards is increasing, according to the latest figures from the FTTH Council Europe, revealed during the industry organisation’s FTTH Conference 2013 in London. Russia has emerged as a clear fibre leader in the region. The country added […]
MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd has continued his advocacy of the need to strike a balance between the desire for a free and open Internet and the protection of intellectual property, with co-operation between Silicon Valley and Hollywood central to this process. Delivering a keynote speech at the National Press Club Speakers Luncheon, Dodd […]
The board of Virgin Media are being sued over the company’s $23.3 billion sale to Liberty Global. Virgin’s directors have been accused of breaching their “fiduciary duties” because they allegedly accepted Liberty’s bid without seeking higher offers elsewhere. Investor Jeff Grimsley has filed a complaint in a Manhattan court that the “unfair process” was meant […]