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The Associated Press is creating a strategic business unit to come up with fresh experiences for news on the web, mobile phones, tablets, and e-readers.

RealNetworks has agreed to kill its DVD-copying software and pay $4.5 million in settling a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by Hollywood studios. As part of the settlement announced Wednesday, the provider of online entertainment services also agreed to drop its appeal of a San Francisco federal court ruling that barred RealNetworks from distributing or supporting RealDVD or any other technology that enables the duplication of the studios' copyrighted content. The 2008 lawsuit filed by Viacom and the Motion Picture Association of America claimed that RealDVD illegally circumvented the anti-piracy technology embedded in DVDs. The DVD Copy Control Association, which licenses Hollywood-sanctioned copyright-protection technology, joined the suit later, claiming RealNetworks was also in violation of its DVD CCA license.

Discusses framing of Net Neutrality as contested First Amendment terrain, with comments by Kyle McSlarrow, President of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

A judge disclosed for the first time that the artist known for his Barack Obama "HOPE'' image is under criminal investigation. A grand jury began an investigation after Shepard Fairey said he erred about which Associated Press photo he used as the basis for "HOPE'' and had submitted false images and deleted other images to conceal his mistake.

A judge revealed in a hearing that a criminal investigation was pending against the artist Shepard Fairey in connection with his use of an Associated Press photograph of Barack Obama, a lawyer involved in the case said

In a sign that Google's negotiations with the Associated Press over a new licensing contract may have reached a standstill, new AP articles are no longer being hosted in Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News; Search Engine Land's Danny Sullivan, who first reported the development, says that new AP articles haven't been hosted on the site since Dec. 24. Google isn't providing an explanation. 

This is from the Radio Television Digital News Association, an "online destination for electronic journalists." This article provides guidelines for electronic journalists who blog or incorporate social media.

The University of California at Los Angeles on Wednesday announced that it will continue streaming copyrighted videos in online "virtual classrooms" despite legal objections from an educational media trade group. The university's decision is the latest development in a copyright dispute with the Association for Information and Media Equipment over whether it is legal for the university to convert DVDs from its libraries into a digital format that students can stream from password-protected course Web sites. UCLA considers the practice "essential," since it allows students to watch the videos on their own computers and on their own time, rather than having to gather in a classroom. Many educators at other colleges have watched the case with intent, waiting to see what implications, if any, the spat might have on their own institutions' use of streaming video.

The Communication Commission of Kenya and Media Owners Association are currently fighting over the enforcement of new clausees restricting media cross ownership in Kenya

The Obama administration is backing $675,000 in damages a Massachusetts student must pay the Recording Industry Association of America for file sharing 30 songs.

Several broadcast companies that reported earnings the past few weeks have pointed out that TV station revenues were down due to the lack of political ad spending in 2009. Since 2010 is a banner year for major Congressional races, local media researcher Borrell Associates expects that TV broadcasters will have something to cheer about. The same can't be said for online media, which will hardly see a fraction of the total $42 billion Borrell says will be spent on political campaigns.

The RIAA argues ISP's should perform copyright enforcement, and claim Net Neutrality blocks such efforts.

Publishers and broadcasters have always called on freelance journalists. But a generation ago, if they used material from another organization, it was usually limited to a handful of large, well-known and respected ones like The Associated Press or Reuters. With established newsrooms shrinking, a raft of smaller news outlets have cropped up in the last few years, selling or simply giving news reports to the traditional media - groups like ProPublica, Global Post, Politico and Kaiser Health News.

"One provision, a "Mobile Future Auction," calls for a spectrum auction that allows current licensees, including broadcasters, to voluntarily give up spectrum in exchange for a share of auction proceeds. This provision, which has drawn the ire of the National Association of Broadcasters trade group, is one element of a plan to free up 500 MHz of spectrum over the next decade for mobile broadband use."

"Media powerhouse News Corp is run by Rupert Murdoch. It owns - among other things -- Harper Collins, the \nWall Street Journal, 20th Century Fox, Hulu, MySpace and a host of other media outlets. Now News Corp and its MySpace CEO suddenly part ways. Why?"

A researcher from CBS opposed reports at an Association of National Advertisers meeting that advertisers are spending less on television ads than they have in the past.

"J.K. Rowling has been named in a lawsuit alleging she stole ideas for her wildly popular and lucrative "Harry Potter" books from another British author. The estate of the late Adrian Jacobs added Rowling as a defendant in a lawsuit it filed in June against Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for alleged copyright infringement, according to a statement released by the estate's representatives, who are based in Australia."

" The Associated Press has activated a Facebook page and added a Twitter account as part of its extensive coverage of the Haiti earthquake. http://www.facebook.com/APNews http://twitter.com/ap"

Will the Citizens United ruling impact net neutrality? This article explores the arguments on both sides, as well as the role of an ISP.