private
Congressional Research Service says Comcast/NBC deal a go
The proposed Comcast/NBC merger has aroused plenty of controversy in Congress and elsewhere; it’s also the subject of two antitrust reviews, one at the Department of Justice and one at the FCC. According to the Congressional Research Service , though, the deal appears to be done and will certainly be approved. CRS is Congress’ private research agency, and it prepared a report a few weeks ago on the Comcast/NBC deal.
Continue reading »Learn What to Do When Falsely Accused of Copyright Infringement
Created in response to the controversial campaign initiated by UK law firm ACS:Law against illegal file-sharers, the “ Speculative Invoicing Handbook ” provides valuable information on how to avoid becoming a victim of extortion, Zeropaid reports. With their so-called “revolutionary business model” in hand, ACS:Law – a UK-based law firm claiming to be specialized in globally representing the legal interests of property rights holders – recently started an aggressive movement against more than 15,000 presumed illegal file-sharers across the UK. Although initially determined to effectively counter copyright infringement acts and replace the unreliable, old-fashioned anti-piracy measures of other companies, the UK law firm was later forced to drop a large number of cases due to lack of clear evidence.
Continue reading »Europe’s dysfunctional private copying levy to remain
Europe’s “private copying levy” system is a mess. You might pay a hidden charge of €3.15 in Spain for an MP3 player but a full €25 in France. An inkjet multifunction printer levy could run €178.84 in Belgium but only €12 in Germany.
Continue reading »Broadband stimulus unlikely to have desired effect?
Those of you looking for the Dickensian version of America’s broadband future need search no further than the Insight Research Corporation’s latest projections of high speed Internet growth in the United States. The research group says neither private or public sector efforts are going to take a significant bite out of the digital divide in the foreseeable future. It’s always a troubling sign when a report starts off with a subhead like “How Bad Off Are We?” The answer, Insight appears to conclude, is pretty bad.
Continue reading »Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde wants your credit card number
For years, the Pirate Bay was the place to go to if you wanted to share movies, music or other digital goods. Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde, who resigned from his job as the site’s spokesperson earlier this year, now has his eyes set on a different kind of loot: Sunde is one of the founders of the Swedish start-up Kvittar that promises to keep track of all of your purchases and offer a kind of online locker for receipts. From Kvittar’s website: “Receipts exist almost everywhere digitally today.
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