Group items tagged

A New York judge is due to rule on Feburary 18th whether Google's plans to make millions of in-copyright books available online are legal - potentially bringing an end to the company's controversial quest to create the world's biggest digital library."

The UK's Digital Economy Bill (DEB) may have a negative effect on establishments that offer open Wi-Fi access to users. Libraries, Universities, Cafes and other small businesses will not be exempt from anti-piracy policies in the Digital Economy Bill, meaning that a small business offering WiFi might be warned and held responsible for copyright infringement of somebody using their WiFi access.

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.

Disney is looking to sell off what remain of Miramax and its film library, with a price in the range of over $700 million. There is somewhere around seven to ten interested buyers, including Summit Entertainment

In another blow to Google's plan to create a giant digital library and bookstore, the Justice Department on Thursday said that a class-action settlement between the company and groups representing authors and publishers had significant legal problems, even after recent revisions.

Google's plan to digitize the world's books into a combination research library and bookstore has hit another snag, in the form of a U.S. Justice Department statement that "despite substantial progress made, issues remain" with the proposed settlement agreement of the class action lawsuit The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc.

Google's plan to digitize the world's books into a combination research library and bookstore has hit another snag, in the form of a U.S. Justice Department statement that "despite substantial progress made, issues remain" with the proposed settlement agreement of the class action lawsuit The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc.

France may turn to Google for help as the country attempts to digitize libraries and cultural archives.

ROME-Google Inc. on Wednesday said it will scan ancient Italian literary texts ranging from Galileo Galilei to herbal medicine manuals as part of the Internet company's first publishing partnership with a national government. The deal involves digitizing up to one million books held in the National Libraries in Rome and Florence.

List of links on film, television, and theater industries

The Walt Disney Company has been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and has attracted seven to 10 interested bidders, according to a mergers and acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.