US internet radio under threat from new ruling
The US Copyright Royalty Board has rejected an appeal by internet radio broadcasters against a plan to increase royalty fees.
Many US web broadcasters are saying that the royalty hikes, which will be backdated to January 2006, will put them out of business, as well as affecting the diversity of music available online.
Govt 'must act' to ensure super-fast broadband
The UK government must do more to ensure consumers get broadband well in excess of the speeds offered by today's packages, according to a telecoms advisory group.
Although 50% of all adults live in a home with 'broadband', according to a recent Ofcom report, the Broadband Stakeholders Group warned that current speeds will be too slow to handle the requirements of the most bandwidth-hungry businesses by 2012.
Sorrell settles 'mafia' blog libel case
WPP boss Martin Sorrell has dropped a libel action against two employees he claimed had used an anonymous blog to slur his character, instead opting to settle for £120,000.
Marco Benatti and Marco Tinelli, heads of a WPP Italian subsidiary, were alleged to have likened Sorrell to a Godfather-type mafia boss and published "grossly offensive" images of the advertising chief and an ex-lover.
Amazon kills Statsaholic, but does Jeff know?
Statsaholic, the Alexa-powered traffic tool formerly known as Alexaholic, is being systematically crushed by Amazon in a move that is going to create a wave of negative PR for the online retail giant.
Earlier this month Amazon sent a legal warning that forced Alexaholic to drop the Alexa from its name. Fair enough – brands have to look after their trademarks. But now it is preventing Statsaholic from using its API at all.
This is bad news, and sends out a highly ridiculous message to current and prospective users of Amazon Web Services. The message is this: “If you are successful, we can close you down.”
Charges against Sportingbet chairman dropped
Online gambling firm Sportingbet has announced that the charges against its former chairman Peter Dicks, who was detained last September by US authorities , have been dropped.
In a statement, the company said that it 'has reached an amicable resolution with the St. Landry district attorney in the state of Louisiana' and that all warrants related to the case have been withdrawn.
German keeps Euro Gmails close to his chest
A German businessman who owns the 'G-mail' trademark so desired by Google says he would refuse to sell the name, even for millions of dollars.
Hamburg-based Daniel Giersch registered the name for his postal service in 2000 and launched an e-mail adjunct in 2003, before Google launched its web-based mail client a year later.
Online banking fraud on the rise
Online fraud figures released yesterday by APACS, the UK payments association, show a 44% rise in online banking fraud last year.
Offline credit card fraud at UK retailers fell by 47% to a total of £72.1m, from 2005's figure of £135.9m, thanks largely to the introduction of chip and pin.
Viacom sues Google for $1bn
Viacom has sued Google for $1bn (£517m) over what it claims is "massive intentional copyright infringement" on YouTube and has asked for an injunction to stop any more of its videos being uploaded to the site.
This is the first major lawsuit to be filed against Google since its acquisition of YouTube, although it was not entirely unexpected.
Microsoft attacks Google's 'cavalier' ad billions
Microsoft is expected to publicly criticise rival Google's "cavalier" approach to copyright in a speech to the publishing industry today.According to an advance copy of an address due to be delivered by associate general counsel Thomas Rubin to the American Association of Publishers, and obtained by the Financial Times, Rubin will say: "Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people's content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and IPOs.
Police limit online fraud investigations
With the high levels of online fraud, the police are unable to investigate every complaint they receive about instances of online crime and, in some cases they are unable to investigate.
Cases where individuals have been defrauded to the amount of a few hundred pounds are being pushed to the back of the queue, as police do not have the resources to cope with the problem.
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
