P2P settlement lawyers lied, committed fraud says new lawsuit

A new lawsuit charges that lawyers from the US Copyright Group lied to the US Copyright Office and have embarked on a fraudulent mass extortion scheme as they seek to squeeze file-sharers for $1,500 or more.

[via arstechnica]

Screach Takes Social TV Beyond Check Ins

British startup Screen Reach Monday unveiled a social TV platform called Screach that should answer the question, “Why would you bother checking in to a TV show?” MobileBeat reports.

Companies large (like Comcast) and small (like Miso) are experimenting with ways that users can check in to TV shows and share what they’re watching with friends. Screach is pursuing similar goals, but wants to make the check in a byproduct of some other, more engaging activity.

For example, if you’re watching a game show, the show could offer a reward if you play along at home; then as a side effect, the app would also post a message on Facebook saying that you were watching and playing.

Read full article.

The Pirate Bay Appeal Verdict: Guilty Again

According to Torrent Freak, the Swedish Appeal Court has found Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij and Carl Lundström of The Pirate Bay, guilty of “contributory copyright infringement” and handed down prison sentences ranging from 4 to 10 months plus damages of more than $6.5 million in total.

Compared to the District Court ruling, the court has decreased the prison sentences for the three defendants, but increased the damages that have to be paid to the entertainment industries.

... Defendant Peter Sunde told TorrentFreak that they are all appealing at the Supreme Court as soon as possible.

Whatever happens next, not much will change for the users of the popular BitTorrent indexer. The Pirate Bay website will remain online and operating as usual. None of the defendants are involved in the site anymore, and all assets are reportedly owned by the Seychelles based company Reservella.

Read full article.

Previously, about The Pirate Bay

U.S. Shuts Down Web Sites in Piracy Crackdown

In what appears to be the latest phase of a far-reaching federal crackdown on online piracy of music and movies, the Web addresses of a number of sites that facilitate illegal file-sharing were seized this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

In taking over the sites’ domain names, or Web addresses, the government effectively redirected any visitors to its own takedown notice.

Among the domains seized were torrent-finder.com and those of three sites that specialized in music: onsmash.com, rapgodfathers.com and dajaz1.com. TorrentFreak, a news blog about BitTorrent said that at least 70 other addresses had been seized, most belonging to sites related to counterfeit clothing, DVDs and other goods.

Read full article.

The story of the crime drama and the cellphone

An interesting Op-Ed piece in the Boston Globe by Carlo Rotella, reflecting on TV characters and their cell phones.

Apparently, what viewers want to see are children in danger and people using cellphones.

“Law and Order’’ franchise, have you noticed how much screen time is taken up by actors talking on cellphones?

Real cops do use their cellphones, of course, just as they sleep and use the bathroom, and I can appreciate how the device of the timely call or text message serves writers looking for efficient ways to advance the plot. But is there anything more irritatingly dull than watching someone else, even a good-looking actor, use a cellphone? Yes, they whip it out with a stylish gesture and speak into it with dramatic terseness, but there’s only so much one can do to dress up the act itself.

So why do we want — or at least consent — to watch anything so inherently tedious? I see no evidence that the shows are protesting the small declines in quality of life that form the downside of the convenience of cellphones. I think it’s more likely that the annoyances associated with cellphones have grown so normal that they’re almost invisible...

Read full article.

YouTube, French Artists Reach Content Deal

According to The Wall Street Journal, YouTube has signed an agreement with three French royalty-collecting societies to pay artists when their works are shown on the video sharing website.

Under the deal, the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, the Société Civile des Auteurs Multimedia and the Société des auteurs dans les arts graphiques et plastiques will receive payments from YouTube, Google said in a statement. The collecting societies—who represent a range of filmmakers, screenwriters and authors—will then redistribute the money to their members.

The agreement only applies to content viewed in France, Belgium and Luxembourg and retroactively covers content viewed on YouTube since 2007 and up to 2013.

Read full article.

Broadcasters Line Up New Mobile Apps For TV Brands

mocoNews.net on broadcasters adding on to their mobile app portfolios, following successful first launches.

Research Indicates Online TV Viewers Will Tolerate More Ads. What?

I'm dumbfounded by this article in MediaBuyerPlanner, on the results of research released by Turner Broadcasting, conducted with Magna Global, which says online video viewers are willing to watch more ads - and that they rarely watch an entire TV show online. Two findings which I believe couldn't be further from the truth.

Online streams of TV shows could support as many ads as broadcast television shows, Turner says.

Jack Wakshlag, Turner’s chief research officer, says the research shows that viewers often don’t watch an entire TV show online - just as they often don’t watch a full episode on television - and that they watched for about the same number of total minutes no matter how many ads they were shown.

Like many people I know, I watch American TV series daily in streaming and in full and I would never put up with the advertising model of american TV - which I find unbearable every time I travel to the US. And as for not watching TV shows in full, someone should check with video sharing websites how long their viewers stay online. And ask Megavideo how many subscribers they have. They offer a subscription after 57 minutes of free viewing, or interrupt viewing for a couple of hours.

FilmOn.Com Ordered to Stop Streaming Free

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order against FilmOn.com, a site that has allowed mobile users to watch TV for free -- over the objections of the networks providing the content. The service, which debuted just weeks ago, signed up more than 30 million users.

[via The Wrap]

Google Wants To License Miramax Movies For YouTube

According to The San Francisco Chronicle and The Wrap, Google is in preliminary talks acquire the digital rights to Miramax films.

If true, this is by far Google's biggest push into premium content for YouTube. This would put the company in much more direct competition with premium streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

Read full article.

Viacom to Google TV users: no full episodes for you!

The list of content that the Google TV won't be able to access keeps growing. Now Viacom has joined the club, saying that it will definitely block full episodes from the device.

[via arstechnica]

Netflix rolls out streaming only video subscription for US market

Netflix has raised prices on its DVD-by-mail service. But the company will introduce a new streaming video plan for US customers.

[via The Christian Science Monitor]

U.S. Army launches milTube

The U.S. Army has launched milTube, a secure, behind-the-firewall website providing a safe military alternative to commercial video-sharing sites like YouTube.

MilTube allows the military workforce to watch and share videos across installations worldwide. The site follows Web 2.0 tools milBook, milWiki and milBlog, which already have more than 88,500 users across the Department of Defense.

[e-mail press release]

P2P lawyers face discipline for demanding cash from innocents

Before ACS Law became famous (and then infamous) for suing alleged file-swappers in the UK, another law firm called Davenport Lyons blazed the trail. Now, two partners from that firm face accusations that they proceeded recklessly by seeking payments from thousands of people based on an IP address.

[via arstechnica]

Senate panel approves domain name seizure bill

A controversial bill, known as COICA, for Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, allowing the government to pull the plug on Web sites accused of aiding piracy is closer to becoming a federal law. CNet reports.

After a flurry of last-minute lobbying from representatives of content providers including the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a Senate committee approved the measure today by a unanimous vote.

Read full article.

Amazon starts Amazon Studios

Reuters, Amazon.com Inc is making a foray into film production with a new website that allows would-be filmmakers to submit scripts and movies that could land on the silver screen.

Amazon Studios, in a partnership with Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros on Wednesday, is offering almost $3 million for "top submissions" of scripts and test movies received by Dec. 31, 2011 and plans to develop the projects as commercial feature films.

Full length movies will be tested for feedback at an early stage. Warner Bros will have first rights to produce the films, although Amazon can approach other studios if Warner Bros rejects the projects.

Read full article.

Nielsen Study. Online Viewers still watch TV

According to a new Nielsen study, eighty-four percent of viewers reported that they are watching the same or more television on their actual TV sets since they started streaming or downloading shows from sites like Hulu, Netflix, or YouTube to watch on their TV set. [via New York Magazine]

In fact, 92 percent of those early adopters subscribe to a pay-TV service, with only 3 percent reporting that they intend to give it up. What's more, 53 percent said they discovered shows by viewing them online and then seeking them out on regularly scheduled TV.

Read related article in The Hollywood Reporter.

A Parallel Universe to TV and Movies

Web series are cheaper and quicker than television and film. A new column in The Arts & Leisure section of the NY Times will periodically round up some current and recent examples.

You’re probably not reading or hearing about them anywhere but online but Web series get made by the hundreds, titles numbering thousands of short episodes: dramas, comedies, Webisodes accompanying television series, cartoons, talk shows, reality shows, newsmagazines, documentaries — a cheaper and quicker parallel universe to television and film.

Read full article. Watch Web Therapy with Lisa Kudrow and Meryl Streep.

Over 35 Hours of Video Uploaded Every Minute to YouTube

According to the YouTube Blog via Search Engine Watch, the amount of video uploaded to YouTube has increased to 35 hours per minute.

Hunter Walk, Director of product management, said, "That breaks out to 2,100 hours uploaded every 60 minutes, or 50,400 hours uploaded to YouTube every day. If we were to measure that in movie terms (assuming the average Hollywood film is around 120 minutes long), 35 hours a minute is the equivalent of over 176,000 full-length Hollywood releases every week.

Read more.

YouTube tests smart tags on videos

YouTube is experimenting with a new way to help its users find exactly what they are looking for by applying 'smart' tags to its videos.

[via ZDNet]

A new record: 9,729 P2P porn pushers sued at once

Over the last two weeks, one lawyer with an AOL e-mail address, working out of a Martinsburg, West Virginia office, has managed to file more than 16,700 new lawsuits against file-swappers with a taste for Batman and booty.

In contrast, it took the RIAA five years to go after 18,000 individuals.

[via arstechnica]

Related:

-- Porn industry going after file sharers

-- 53 gay porn pirates face new round of P2P lawsuits

International BBC iPlayer to launch next year

The head of BBC Worldwide has told The Telegraph that the BBC Trust has okayed an international version of the popular iPlayer. [via TechRadar]

Currently the iPlayer is restricted to UK users, but the potential for the video on demand catch up service being offered worldwide is clear.

"Not only will that mean international fans of, for example, can get their fix legitimately, but it has the potential of opening up a new revenue stream for the entire UK production industry, alongside sales to traditional broadcasters," said Smith to the Telegraph.

Read full article.

FilmOn offers free broadcast TV on your iPad

Interested in watching broadcast television—for free—on your iPad? Just point Safari to FilmOn.com. MacWorld reports.

FilmOn is streaming broadcasts of several network affiliates in the Los Angeles area, including those of NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox, in an effort to entice users to purchase subscriptions to their service.

... If you’re wondering how the networks feel about all this, well, they’re not very happy with FilmOn—nor are they excited about ivi TV, which streams live broadcasts from network affiliates in Seattle and New York.

They’re so unhappy, in fact, that they’ve sued both outfits.

Read more.

Are holograms the next step for 3D tech?

3D TV sets and 3D movies are everywhere in 2010. According to The Christian Science Monitor, 3D holograms could be next.

The technology for a 3D hologram, a three-dimensional telepresence might be closer than you think.

The current issue of the science journal Nature features an extensive report from a group of Arizona researchers who succeeded in creating a real-time image – one that can be viewed without glasses – from multiple angles. (Just like in "Star Wars"!) The image, the researchers said, is recorded using a battery of cameras:

Read full article.

New York City Marathon live-streaming online and with iPad and iPhone apps

New York City's Marathon is this Sunday, Nov. 7, drawing over 100,000 runners from all over the world, including world-class professional athletes and celebrities. [via huliq]

Approximately two million spectators and 315 million television viewers world-wide will cheer on this year’s runners, who will be competing for more than $600,000 in prize money.

Fans can get live streaming of the men’s, women’s and wheelchair races on UniversalSports.com, New York Road Runners NYRR's Marathon Channel as well as with NYRR's first-ever iPhone and iPad app.

Find out more.

How Mexican drug gangs use YouTube against rival groups

Mexican police uncovered a mass grave this week with aid of a YouTube video posted online by a drug gang. Rival gangs have turned to social media before to publicize the crimes of their enemies. The Christian Science Monitor reports.

In the YouTube video, two men confess to killing a group of Mexican tourists kidnapped Sept. 30 in Acapulco. They called it a revenge attack against La Familia, a brutal Michoacan-based crime group. It is unclear which drug organization posted the video.

Read full article.

YouTube begins removing al-Qaeda videos

YouTube has begun removing al-Qaeda videos from its website after the British Government contacted the White House to complain about the material.

[via The Telegraph]

UK Munisters urge White House to have US websites hosting al-Qaeda videos removed

According to The Telegraph, UK Ministers have urged the White House to order US websites hosting al-Qaeda videos to remove them after a student inspired by online sermons tried to murder a Labour MP.

More than 5,000 postings featuring Awlaki's videos were available on YouTube yesterday. In one sermon, titled 44 Ways to Support Jihad, he tells followers: "Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim."

Read full article.

Turkey Blocks, Unblocks YouTube

YouTube was blocked and unblocked again in Turkey on Tuesday, as a dispute continued over the popular video-sharing site's refusal to remove videos deemed illegal by Turkish courts, world-wide.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Mindset Media Study: You are what you watch

Creative people watch "Mad Men," rebels tune into "Family Guy" and people who think they are superior to others catch "The Office," according to "psychographic ad targeter" Mindset Media, which studied 25,000 viewers across 70 TV shows.

Only a few mainstream shows like "House" and "Bones" didn't have any single personality that stood out statistically either because the audiences are so broad, or the fact that personality isn't a driver of viewership.

[Adage via tvtattle]