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Walt Disney Co. is asking theater operators to agree to a shorter time between movie debuts and DVD releases, specifically starting with Alice in Wonderland, in an effort to boost home video sales. The move comes as studios try to find ideas to speed the release times of DVDs to fight slumping DVD revenues.

"The scheduling change is among the first examples of an informal new agreement U.S. theater owners are discussing with the six major Hollywood studios: The exhibitors would let the studios experiment more with DVD release dates. As a result, studios could each release one or two movies a year on DVD a month or so sooner than they usually do, according to people familiar with the matter. The seemingly minor move could portend a big shift in the movie business down the road. The nascent arrangement, which has been under discussion for several months, highlights the growing pressure on the longstanding backbone of Hollywood's business model, an elaborate system known as "release windows." By separating a movie's release in theaters from the time window of when it is released on DVD or cable TV, studios were able to maximize revenue. DVD sales, for example, didn't eat into a movie's take at the box office."

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.

"RealNetworks Inc. said it will pay $4.5 million and drop its appeal of a court order barring sales of its DVD-copying software to settle a lawsuit by Walt Disney Co. and other Hollywood movie studios claiming the technology violates copyright-protection laws. RealNetworks also will refund about 2,700 customers who bought RealDVD, a $30 software program that allows users to save one backup copy of a movie to a computer hard drive."

Study done in UK has shown that UK Citizens are, overall, vast unaware of the particular laws in their own country

A commentary on how relevant UK copyright laws are to current technological trends and lifestyles. A recent study conducted by Government backed Consumer Forum has revealed that almost 73 percent of consumers in Britain are unaware of the fact that under British law, it is illegal to copy music files from CD onto iPods, laptops or any other device.  The organisation conducted a survey of 2000 UK consumers, of which only 17 percent were aware that it was illegal to copy CDs and DVDs onto their computers, 15 percent knew they were not allowed to copy CDs to their iPods and almost 38 percent confessed of copying music files onto their digital players.  The research has thrown light on the outdated copyright laws in Britain, which still classify copying of content from CDs or DVDs onto digital devices as illegal.  The Consumer Forum has asked the government to amend the law, as millions of Britishers were unknowingly breaking British law by copying content on their iPods everyday. 

"Escalating its efforts to crack down on DVD piracy, Twentieth Century Fox on Thursday filed six lawsuits against several dozen people that the company said had sold DVDs containing an unfinished version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and other counterfeit Fox titles."

PGA defines Transmedia Producer.

The guys behind Lionsgate Entertainment's GAMER, which just launched on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, have a videogame history beyond the Crank films.

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.

Viacom is turning the tide after slow growth during the recession. They have implemented cost cutting measures to grow profits with dvd sales and high ratings from quality, thought provoking programs like "Jersey Shore".

BO revs heavily rely on franchise films and 3-D. DVD rev plunges $1b. Tix sales for 3-D top $1.3b before Avatar.

Thanks to Fox News, strong DVD sales and a better performance from television stations, News Corp. reported a 10% jump in fiscal second-quarter revenue to $8.7 billion and big jumps in operating income at its movie and television studio and cable television group.

"Spain is on the brink of no longer being a viable market for us," Michael Lynton, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, told the Times.

Disney is planning to release "Alice in Wonderland" a month earlier than typical DVD releases. They hope to capitalize on buzz from the theatrical release. Surprisingly, movie theaters are not protesting the plan, in spite of the money they could potentially lose from the film being pulled early from theaters.