People who illegally stream copyrighted movies, music, and TV shows online should face stricter punishment, the US register of copyrights and industry representatives told a House subcommittee. Current laws are insufficient to successfully prosecute some online copyright infringement, said Maria Pallante, the acting registra. Laws often target those who download or copy content, and websites […]
Vue Entertainment, one of the UK’s biggest cinema chains, is in talks to allow Hollywood studios to shorten the release window for a limited number of films each year. Vue wants both major and independent to sign up to mid- to long-term agreements of more than three years, during which time each studio will only […]
Cukurova Holding’s owner Mehmet Emin Karamehmet has received an additional 500 million Turkish Lira tax fine for his cable and satellite TV broadcasting company DigiTurk. This latest event in a long-running saga brings his total tax obligations in Turkey to 2.2 billion liras, say local reports. The latest claim covers a period from 2005-2009 and […]
Teléfonos de México’s (Telmex) request for a licence to offer pay-TV service has been rejected by the Mexican government, which cited deficiencies in the quality of the company’s connections with rivals’ networks. The Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (Communications and Transportation Ministry) said that Telmex hadn’t provided required information to the government. The ministry will […]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the first e-G8 forum in Paris declaring that “[the Internet] you represent is not a parallel universe where legal and moral rules and more generally all the basic rules that govern society in democratic countries do not apply.” France has been in the vanguard of trying to protect rights holder […]
David Abraham, the chief executive of Channel 4, has called on Ofcom to investigate the control of audience data after warning that valuable information is being “controlled and commercially exploited” by others. Abraham said that audience data is the “new oil, or soil, of television” and that as viewing behaviour becomes increasingly measurable through interactivity […]
As part of a drive to boost creativity and innovation, the European Commission (EC) has adopted a comprehensive strategy to revamp the legal framework in which IPR operate. Its objective is to enable inventors, creators, users and consumers to adapt to the new circumstances and to enhance new business opportunities. The new rules aim to […]
Sky Italia says Current isn’t being singled out – it is requesting that all channels whose deals are up for renewal settle for lower fees, its chief executive said, as he rejected claims that Sky had dropped Current TV for political reasons. “Every deal we are going into, we are trying to cut rates. The […]
The National Association of Broadcasters has come out in support of legislation aimed specifically at controlling ‘pirate’ and ‘rogue’ websites, especially those registered outside the US, which traffic in unauthorised distribution of licensed content or counterfeit goods. The legislation from Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and his committee would allow the Justice Department to file […]
Jeremy Hunt, the UK Culture Secretary, whose Department for Culture, Media, Olympics and Sport is assessing the News Corp bid for the 61 per cent of BSkyB it doesn’t already own, has admitted that the process is taking longer than anticipated to conclude. He told the Broadcasting Press Guild that the Department was going to […]