What Does YouTube's Summary Judgment Win Mean

The article by Wayne Friedman of MediaPost speaks to the somewhat surprising win by Google/YouTube and what it may really mean for the creative community.

Through the discovery process, Viacom uncovered numbers of YouTube executive e-mails discussing the awareness of the infringement issue and how to best respond--taking into account the YouTube interest in potential acquisitions prior to being bought by Google.

The federal judge cited YouTube's timely response under the DMCA to take down copyrighted materials when put on notice as required by the DMCA. However, YouTube execs knew, or certainly should have known, that the many clips from known television programs were copyrighted and were being used without permission by YouTube posters.

The underlying concerns of copyright holders, all along the spectrum of large multinational media companies to individual artists, is that this immediate court ruling can open the door to unauthorized use of copyrighted content and even with apparent knowledge the hosting service can rely on procedural compliance with the DMCA as a shield.

Admittedly, YouTube may not have been acting as like the original Napster or the current LimeWire in actively promoting the use and sharing of copyrighted content but in all practical terms the significant amount of copyrighted material appearing on YouTube without any apparent consent was acknowledged.

Viacom's appeal of the district court's decision is one to follow.

Tech Entrepreneur On Why Mobile Will Overtake PCs

Very interesting and thought-provoking article by Steve Cheney on Techcrunch.com.

Cheney argues that functional and philosophical differences OEM technology and vendor relationships between mobile and PC companies is leading to the mobile market's success in offering superior video alternatives to cable and satellite.

Cheney sees mobile as leading the way towards substantive competition with and independence from the current dominant multiple video distributors.

Something to think about for programmers, advertisers and marketers.

Music Companies Sue LimeWire

Even as music proliferates on the web through a variety of promotional, marketing, distribution and sale models, the copyright questions and legal pitfalls continue.

The recording and music publishing industry may have begun to figure out the digital media landscape later than the new media entrepreneurs and visionaries, and the suit filed by publishers including EMI, Universal and Warner/Chappell show that the libraries remain vast and copyright law remains on their side. Lawsuits have always been a means to force a deal and this may be the case here as well as the filing contains references to accommodations reached with other online entities, including Napster. Online music players need to remember the sandbox still has room for kids that have been there a long time.

FCC, in Party line vote, moves on broadband regulation

In a 3-2 vote, the FCC is following the Chairman's lead in moving forward on the so-called "third way" of regulation broadband by applying certain Title II Common Carrier regs to broadband service.

This effort to create a 'net neutrality" regulatory scheme for broadband is in response to the recent federal appellate court ruling which supported Comcast in its assertion that FCC attempts to regulate Comcast's broadband control efforts had no legal foundation.

Members of Congress, industry associations and public interest groups have all expressed positions and vowed to act if the FCC sought to assert this kind of authority and jurisdiction over the Internet. The concept of "net neutrality" and how access and usage is decided will be a major telecommunications, business and policy fight.

The sharing information, decisions on speed, pricing and access to certain sites, are bound up in this issue; and for the companies that invest in the infrastructure and networks there are significant issues of economics, return and control as well.

This will be the next major communications policy battle in the coming year.

With TV Everywhere, What Will Be New Focus?

Time Warner CEO, Jeff Bewkes, has been an early and consistent advocate of "TV Everywhere" combining multi platform distribution and authentication technology to offer viewers content wherever and however they want to view.

With content providers like ESPN promoting 3 screen engagement, and online and mobile screens becoming an increasingly key component of ad and marketing campaigns, Bewkes argues that the search and interface formats are the new focus and key to TV Everywhere's growth.

Convergence of distribution technologies has been a catch-phrase since the early 1980's when visionaries saw the potential of emerging computer based delivery and manipulation of information and its application to television. That vision is now here for everyone to see.

Measuring Audience and Privacy

This commentary by the Chief Research Officer of comScore is a good look at the increasing tensions among measuring and targeting consumers and privacy concerns and expectations.

There seems to be a story everyday about desire of advertisers and marketers to know as much about the consumer/viewer who is watching/clicking/searching and the actual/potential abuse of personally identifiable information. The definition of what constitutes "personally identifiable information" is under stress and many expect it to expand as search and measuring technologies become more robust and refined.

At the moment it may seem that governments, legislators and watchdog groups are leading the public on this issue. But if the decisions and questions raised by Facebook recently and errors (however unintended) like those of ATT continue, the public may begin to listen more closely and expect more transparent ways to say "yes" or "no".

ESPN: TV as King Amidst 3 Screen Court

As the interplay among technology, content and marketing innovations creates new integrated opportunities for traditional and digital media, ESPN is leading the "3 Screen" consumer reach. While the traditional ESPN-ABC cable/broadcast screen is still cited as "king", online and mobile have probably passed the Magna Carta stage and heading towards a constitutional monarchy.

The court is filled with advertisers and marketers seeking and seeing new opportunities, both backing and shaping this new age of content and consumer exploration.

Don't ignore the jester however; those asides and slightly acidic warnings about privacy are being listened to by Parliament and even among the excited public there are concerns mixed in with the anticipation of offerings and choices.