'Striker' first Indian film to premier on YouTube internationally

Bollywood movie 'Striker', which is based on a true story about a carrom player from Mumbai's ghettos, is set to become the first Indian movie to be released Internationally on YouTube, simultaneously with it theatrical release on February 5. The Times of India reports.

But it will be not be viewable by YouTube users in India.

The innovative step is seen as a way to promote films that are high on content but low on star value and don't get a chance to release theatrically in overseas markets, said a statement from the producers.

In the US, 'Striker' will be available for rent on YouTube while in other countries the film will be available for free on Studio18's YouTube channel.

It is an attempt to reach a wider audience through online release and help curb piracy.

Read full article.

EU to assess piracy detection software

Privacy International, a human rights watchdog has asked the European Commission to assess the legality of software being used to analyse file-sharing in the UK.

The software in question is called CView and will be used by ISP Virgin Media to identify legal versus illegal traffic on its network.

Read full article in the BBC.

Apple iPad: Books, Magazines, Movies and Music

The Apple iPad will redefine newspapers, textbooks, magazines. Is Apple bringing a media revolution? Check it out on Gizmodo.

Piracy letter campaign 'nets innocents'

More than 150 people have approached consumer publication Which? Computing claiming to have been wrongly targeted in crackdowns on illegal file-sharing. The BBC reports.

ACS:Law has sent thousands of letters to people claiming they have illegally downloaded material and offers them a chance to settle by paying around £500.

Which? says it has been approached by some - including a 78 year-old accused of downloading pornography - who have no knowledge of the alleged offence.

Read full article.

Related: Lawyers target thousands of illegal file sharers

Fake version of YouTube launches in China

As the Google-China face-off spirals and even entangles President Obama, one Chinese computer whiz adds to the fray by creating a fake version of YouTube. That simultaneously violates Google’s intellectual property and China’s strict censorship.

[via The Christian Science Monitor]

YouTube to show Lionsgate/Massify incubator films

Lionsgate studio and online talent network Massify said Tuesday that YouTube will be the primary distributor for short films produced by their partnership.

[via MSN money]

Obama's State of the Union Speech live on YouTube

On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union speech, which will be broadcast live on YouTube's CitizenTube channel as well as on The White House's brand new iPhone app.

This year's State of the Union speech will also make history. It will be the first time that citizens will have the opportunity to ask follow-up questions during the speech -- and to hear the president's response to those questions.

During the live broadcast of the State of the Union on Citizentube, YouTube will open up a Moderator series for anyone to submit questions for the president in video or in text.

Over the following few days, you'll be able to submit additional questions and vote on your favorites too. Then next week, YouTube will bring some of your top-voted questions to the president in a YouTube interview from the White House, which will also broadcast live on Citizentube.

[via YouTube Blog and The Washington Post]

Internet TV service SeeSaw launches beta trial

SeeSaw, a new online TV service offering both catch-up and archive programmes, is launching a trial in the UK. The BBC reports.

SeeSaw has signed a content deal with BBC Worldwide and is in negotiation with Channel 4 and Five and American broadcasters for other shows.

Ultimately the site will run offer both free and pay-per-view services.

Read full article.

Italy's Berlusconi Backs Legislation to Screen YouTube Content

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government is backing legislation that would mandate that videos uploaded by users to sites like YouTube and Dailymotion be screened for pornography or excessive violence before being approved, reports DMW DigitalMedia Wire.

The draft legislation would see an authority appointed by the government empowered to shut down any sites who fail to screen content deemed harmful to minors, or impose fines of up to $210,000.

Read full article.

Related: - Italy Proposes "Uploader's License"

YouTube Turning A Profit? Eric Schmidt "Assumes" It Is

A week ago Doug Anmuth of Barclays said YouTube would be profitable this year on $700 million in revenue.

... When asked specifically if YouTube is profitable, Eric Schmdit gives the FT this wishy-washy answer: "I’d assume so, yes."

[Business Insider]

YouTube to charge $5 for five Sundance Films

On Friday YouTube will offer five films from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance Film Festival for a fee around $5 . It's a way, YouTube says, to bring more exposure to independent films. But it's also a test to see if viewers will pay for content, YouTube says.

[via USA Today]

IRS Utilizes YouTube To Help Taxpayers

The IRS has launched a new channel on YouTube offering tax payers dozens of videos with information about new credits and deductions, as well as other changes in the tax law.

The videos feature IRS employees and are available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

[via WBKO]

Gay Marriage Trial Coming to YouTube as a Reenactment

In its January 13, 2010 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the public broadcasting of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a U.S. District Court case challenging the constitutional validity of California Proposition 8.

Working from partial transcripts and first-hand accounts from bloggers who are present at the trial, production company JIP will re-create the trial proceedings and post them at marriagetrial.com, for public viewing and on YouTube.

California film maker John Ireland put together a cast of 25 volunteer actors through a casting call on the SAG-approved casting network, then used partial transcripts from the trial and blogs reports to put together a script.

Expected debut: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Press release and article in NBC Bay Area

Previously:

-- Supreme Court blocks YouTube from Calif.'s Prop. 8 trial

-- Prop. 8 trial will be shown on YouTube

YouTube Search Accounts for Nearly 28% of all Google Searches

A little over a year ago, comScore’s US Search Rankings Report for Dec. 2008 showed that YouTube for the first time, could be thought of as the second largest search engine next to Google with 2,905,000,000 total search queries that month. ReelSEO reports.

According to comScore’s December 2009 US Search Rankings Report published last week, YouTube searches grew 35% year over year to more than 3.9 billion search queries.

In fact, YouTube not only had 50% more searches than Yahoo web search (3.918B vs 2.629B) and 180% more searches than Bing (3.918B vs 1.399B), but the number of searches at the online video giant made up almost 28% (27.95) of the total searches on Google sites for Dec. 2009.

Read full report.

Italy proposes "uploader's license"

boingboing reports that Italy has floated a proposal to require Italians to get an "uploader's license" in order to put any "moving pictures" on the Internet.

People who upload videos onto the Internet to obtain authorization from the Communications Ministry similar to that required by television broadcasters

[via The Industry Standard]

State agency Hadopi accused of pirating the font of its logo

Hapodi, the French agency that's in charge of the country's new anti-piracy scheme (if someone you live with is accused of three acts of infringement, your whole household is taken offline and added to a list of address to which it is illegal to provide Internet access) has been accused of pirating the font used it its logo. The font designer is talking lawsuit. Hadopi says it wasn't infringement, just an "error of manipulation."

[via boingboing]

Supreme Court blocks YouTube from Calif.'s Prop. 8 trial

The U.S. Supreme Court has put a halt, at least temporarily, to plans to let Google's video site stream coverage of the "Proposition 8" trial, which kicked off Monday in a San Francisco courtroom. News.com reports.

California voters approved Prop. 8, a ban on same-sex marriages, in last fall's elections, and the court is now being asked to overturn the law. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker was going to allow the trial to be covered, on a tape-delayed basis, on the world's biggest video site.

But the Supreme Court Monday morning granted a temporary order overruling Vaughn.

Read full article.

Previously: - Prop.8 Trial to be shown on YouTube

Internet-enabled TVs to feature ‘app stores’

“App stores” are coming to the television as developers and content providers move their software and services to the big screens of internet-connected TVs. The Financial Times reports.

Many TV sets on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week have an added Ethernet connection as the internet, along with 3D, becomes an integrated part of the viewing experience.

... Vudu, which began as a streaming movie service, announced Vudu Apps on Wednesday, a platform that will deliver video, music on demand, photo browsing, news services, social networking and other applications through internet-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players from Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Vizio.

Read full article.

Prop. 8 trial will be shown on YouTube

Next week's trial in San Francisco of a lawsuit challenging the initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California won't be televised live, but it will be videotaped for delayed Internet release on YouTube, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

[via The San Francisco Chronicle]

CES: Local TV could spur mobile TV adoption

Mobile TV may finally hit the mainstream when cell phones throughout the U.S. are able to access local TV for free. News.com reports.

The Open Mobile Video Coalition, an organization made up of consumer electronics companies, broadcasters, and mobile TV companies, has finished a standard for new chips that will allow mobile devices, such as cell phones, to receive broadcast TV signals. The new technology is already making its way into prototype devices and is being shown off here at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Read full article in News.com.

Skype will soon be available on your TV set

In just a few months’ time, you’ll be able to get Sykpe on your TV, thanks to TVs from LG and Panasonic with an integrated Skype client that will be coming out later this year.

While users will still have to purchase a separate video camera designed to work with the service (priced at around $100-$200), doing so will open up a whole new way for users to connect with friends and family from the comfort of their living room.

Read full article in NewTeeVee and Skype video explaining how it will work.

France three strikes law delayed by govt's own data watchdog

The French governments' watchdog, La Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), that examines the data privacy implications of new legislation, is refusing to sign off on France's tough new "three strikes" law until it gets more information about what data will be retained... and how.

[arstechnica via TechRadar]

Cancelled TV series "The Beautiful Life" thriving on YouTube

Ashton Kutcher's TV drama "The Beautiful Life" cancelled by CW after only two episodes for poor ratings, is doing well on YouTube.

According to CNN, the five episodes combined have been viewed about 2.7 million times in the three weeks they have been available online in their entirety.

... "Now that the airing of the episodes on YouTube has been as successful as it has been, there are conversations about continuing with the show in some form or fashion. We haven't had any discussions with the CW about bringing the show back, but anything is possible," Kutcher's partner Karey Burke said.

While YouTube hosts a vast amount of old television shows and original Web series, this is the first time a cancelled television series from the United States has moved onto the platform and is as much an experiment for YouTube as it is for Kutcher.

Samsung Moment Becomes First Free US Mobile TV Phone

On Tuesday Samsung announced that the Moment would be the first phone to feature Mobile DTV, the new free-to-air mobile TV standard that's launching early this year. The Mobile DTV-equipped Moment will be part of a customer trial in Washington and Baltimore during the first quarter of 2010, Samsung said.

[via PCMag]

Internet pirates find 'bulletproof' havens for illegal file sharing

Internet pirates are moving away from safe havens such as Sweden to new territories that include China and Ukraine, as they try to avoid prosecution for illegal file sharing, according to experts. The Guardian reports.

... The change is rooted in the evolution of "bulletproof hosting", or website provision by companies that make a virtue of being impervious to legal threats and blocks. Not all bulletproof services are linked to illegal activities, but they are popular among criminal groups, spammers and file-sharing services.

Trying to Add Portability to Movie Files

Hollywood and its high-tech partners are trying to create a digital standard that would let consumers buy or rent a movie once and then play it on any device.

[via The New York Times]

YouTube video gets British teen invitation to sing on Broadway

The Pie Jesu from Requiem performed by young Karl Jenkins and posted on YouTube has landed him an invitation to perform on Broadway later this month. [via the Examiner]

Officials from Distinguished Concerts International contacted the Llandaff Cathedral Choir (where Owen has sang for five years) and invited him to sing in the Martin Luther King Day concert on January 18.

New internet piracy law comes into effect in France

The first effects of France's new law against internet piracy will begin to be felt as the new year begins. The BBC reports.

The law was passed after a long struggle in parliament, and in the teeth of bitter opposition from groups opposed to internet restrictions.

Illegal downloaders will be sent a warning e-mail, then a letter if they continue, and finally must appear before a judge if they offend again.

The judge can impose a fine, or suspend their access to the internet.

The Creation and Internet Bill set up a new state agency - the Higher Authority for the Distribution of Works and the Protection of Copyright on the Internet (Hadopi).

Articles related to the passing of the Bill.