Studios unveil their copyright protection guidelines
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An alliance of technology and media companies releases a set of principles for promoting user-generated content while protecting copyright online.
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The major motion picture studios launched an international offensive against online piracy on Tuesday as the MPAA announced scores of lawsuits on four continents and criminal
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LOS ANGELES, Nov 4  - Hollywood studios on Thursday launched a major new legal onslaught against online film piracy, announcing that they are suing people who illegally download movies from the Internet.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Union's antitrust regulator has asked Hollywood studios to turn over information about their negotiations with the developers of high-definition DVD formats, giving them until the end of this week to respond. The European Commission is concerned that exclusive deals struck by some studios with the backers of either the HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc formats may be a sign of anticompetitive activity in the industry. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc are competing for the attention of movie studios, which are increasingly releasing their films in high-definition format alongside the regular DVDs carrying standard-definition versions of the films. The Commission began looking for evidence of a possible infringement of E.U. antitrust regulations on its own initiative: there have been no complaints from companies in the industry, said Audrey Lemonnier, press officer for the cabinet of European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes. The Commission wrote to a number of major studios in the first half of June, asking them for information about their dealings with the technology developers, Lemonnier said Tuesday. She would not say which studios received the letters, or how many were sent. The studios have until Friday to respond, she said. If the studios' answers give the Commission cause for doubt, it may launch a full investigation, she said. Film studios Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney release their high-definition content exclusively on Blu-ray Disc, although another member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), Warner Bros. Entertainment, has a foot in both camps: It also releases films on HD DVD. Blu-ray Disc also has the backing of Sony, which uses a Blu-ray Disc player in its PlayStation 3 game console, and computer makers such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. HD DVD has won the backing of Universal Studios, which releases high-definition movies exclusively in HD DVD format, and Microsoft, which uses it in its Xbox 360 game console. Over a million Blu-ray Discs have been sold to date, and 70 percent of high-definition video discs sold in the first quarter were in the Blu-ray format, according to the BDA. Anticompetitive activity can ultimately harm consumers, Lemonnier said. But consumers might prefer to see one format dominate the market, as VHS swept away videotape rival Betamax in an earlier battle over formats. As long as the two compete, and film studios choose one or the other, movie buffs are condemned to buy two players, or be unable to watch some films at home. Representatives for Blu-ray Disc backer Sony and HD DVD supporter Toshiba, and for the DVD Forum, which promotes the HD DVD format, all declined to comment on the Commission's action, saying that it was a matter for the Hollywood studios alone. The studios could not immediately be reached.
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With a minimum of fanfare, the licensing body for the developers of a supplemental copy protection technology exclusively for Blu-ray Disc announced its initial specification for BD+ - which supporters had hoped would be available early last year - is finally ready for licensing to developers.
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Adobe Systems Inc. plans to introduce a new format for digital photos on Monday in an attempt to create an industry public standard to make the archiving and editing process compatible across all types of cameras and photo software.
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Should creators insist on copy protection and other technologies to block the unauthorized spread of their works?
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&#39;Hollywood&#39;s major movie studios started production on their latest epic today, a remake of the recording industry&#39;s aggressive legal campaign to stop the illegal trading of copyrighted works on the Internet.
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Media companies including Viacom  , Microsoft Corp. , News Corp.'s  Fox  and MySpace units and others have agreed to guidelines aimed at  protecting copyrights online, a source familiar with the matter  said on Thursday.
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Until earlier this week, some electronics companies were wielding the Digital Millenium Copyright Act -- a law that tries to curtail piracy of music and movies -- as a shield to protect their businesses from competition.
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By Jefferson Graham  LOS ANGELES -- The music industry is looking ahead to life without copy protection.
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The U.K. is looking to change copyright laws that make it illegal to copy music for personal use and for libraries to archive material under copyright.
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The UA film industry releases its latest tool in a campaign to clamp down on movie file-sharing.
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Taking a cue from the music industry, film studios and the Motion Picture Association of America said on Thursday that they were readying the first lawsuits against people
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Pixar and DreamWorks worked outside the rulebook for animated films. In the process, they wrote new rules. But will Hollywood take the wrong lesson?
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Memorandum of understanding with four American and British trade associations aimed at enforcement of copyright.
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LOS ANGELES -- The Motion Picture Association of America announced Thursday it will work with its members and other film studios to file lawsuits against people who have illegally traded digital copies of movies over the Internet.