My So-Called Digital Life

iTune songs play on rival players

Recently I was speaking a digital entertainment conference in Hong Kong called Digital Entertainment World 2006 and digital rights were a hot issue. Ron Wheeler, SVP, Content Protection from Foxy Entertainment Group spoke about the issue and all the techonlogies and agreements that are being created to stifle sharing music and video.

He made an interesting comment that its mostly the home users, the personal users who buy a CD, burn it and lend it out or give it to friends. That is where the industry is losing most of its money.

Found this on www.broadbandreports.com. Interesting twist on digital rights and not surprising.

"John Johansen claims to have created software that unlocks playback restrictions of Apple iPod and iTunes music products. And he intends to licenses it for sale to online music stores. Songs bought online from iTunes Music Store can't be played on portable devices made by other companies. Songs purchased from other online music stores also won't work on iPods because they similarly use a form of copy-protection that Apple doesn't support. Johansen's software gets around those restrictions."

There will always be those who keep working on technology hacks and new tech gets created. What will be intestesting is if creating such a "hack" or software for sale would be considered a criminial act.

More of the story can be found here.

Overstock.com’s oversight

This is something that is my personal worry everytime I update a client's site or Snazzygirl.com. I worry of a spelling mistake that I didn't catch, a broken graphic, etc. And if something happens, I feel I'm generally fast enough to fix it before anyone notices. Or at least I hope so.

Problem is, as of 11:20am PST on Monday, October 30th, the problem is still there on Overstock.com. No joke, check it out. But I wasn't the smartie to find this. It was the clever people at Varian who did...and I guess thousands...and millions of others who are shopping on Overstock.com right now.

What happened? They doubled their ‘coming soon’ tab that link nowhere. (see graphic). Additionally, why would anyone, especially a company like overstock.com put a "coming" soon tab in their tab area or even at the top of their site. Remember way back when, when people would have a "under construction" graphic on their site or a link to an underconstruction page. Who cares!!! Never, ever, ever, ever, link to nowhere or link to a page where people can't do, see, shop, read, scratch, sniff...whatever. Bad idea and bad for the brand! An ecommerce site is for commerce...i.e. buying stuff. Linking to something that is coming in the future is both annoying and unnecessary.

Ecommerce in United States will Top 120 Billion in 2006

October 29, 2006 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Ecommerce in the United States will top 120 billion dollars in 2006, website Leadpile.com (http://www.LeadPile.com) forecasted this week. The figure validates the company’s July 2005 prediction that ecommerce in the US would be around the 100 billion mark.

"We are delighted that our prediction looks to be right on the money. For the remainder of 2006, we continue to hold steady on our forecast that 100 Billion in US E-Commerce sales will easily be reached,” suggested CEO of Leadpile.com Mr. Andy Jacob. “The US Department of Commerce has already reported 1st and 2nd quarters 06 at a combined 51.5 Billion in retail sales. Not only do we believe that 100 Billion is a done deal, but it is highly likely that 2006 US E-Commerce Sales will top 120 Billion."

"Everyone seems to be talking about ‘baby boomers’”, added Mr. Jacob. “Leadpile believes that the recent focus on America's aging population has blinded many experts from seeing the explosive growth that will come on the web from the "next generation" of younger, super-internet consumers. These Super Kids in Digital Space, or "SKIDS", as coined by Leadpile in 2005, will lead to explosive growth on the Internet. Leadpile believes that the biggest impact on our world and our culture will come from the "SKIDS", who will help change the entire way we currently think about the internet, wireless devices, and our future. With regard to US E-Commerce, you haven't seen anything yet".

Supreme Court to Review Microsoft-AT&T Patent Case

Today, the Associated Press reported that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a patent disput between Microsoft and AT&T. This particular suit has to do with the Windows programs distributed overseas, which already has me interested. But this has more to do with the speech-coding technology that they use...but here is the kicker.

Microsoft has admitted damages in the US...problem is, what they are fighting is that they have to pay for the same product in the foreign market.

Yet the US congress had already established in another case, that US patents can be extended for foreign sales. The juice is definately there. Read the full article below from the Wall Street Journal.

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Supreme Court to Review Microsoft-AT&T Patent Case
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Friday it would hear a patent dispute between giants Microsoft Corp. and AT&T Corp. over Windows programs distributed overseas.

An appeals court ruled that Microsoft had infringed on an AT&T patent for a type of speech-coding technology.

The outcome could be worth more than $1 billion to Microsoft if the justices find that the lower court ruling improperly extended U.S. patent protections to overseas transactions, said Dennis Crouch, a visiting law professor at Boston University.

"Almost every patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft asks for damages for U.S. sales as well as foreign export sales," Mr. Crouch said. Microsoft has acknowledged its liability for domestic sales.

Microsoft lawyers claimed the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in favor of AT&T "threatens to impose massive liability on U.S. software companies" and could prompt companies to move their research facilities out of the country.

Solicitor General Paul Clement, invited by the court to offer his views, urged justices to take the case. AT&T's remedy "lies in obtaining and enforcing foreign patents, not in attempting to extend United States patent law to overseas activities," Mr. Clement said.

AT&T lawyers said that the ruling only protected its patent, which covers a program with a "speech codec" that digitizes speech. "Congress's congressional authority is to protect the rights of U.S. inventors, not U.S. infringers," they said.

Congress extended the reach of patent protections after the Supreme Court ruled against the holder of a patent on a shrimp deveining machine who complained that a manufacturer shipped component parts overseas to avoid U.S. patent law.

The high court had earlier refused to consider a separate case stemming from a jury's decision that Microsoft should pay $521 million for infringing patents held by Eolas Technologies Inc. and the University of California. Microsoft challenged a ruling that the award should be based on worldwide sales rather than domestic sales.

Copyright © 2006 Associated Press

IBM Sues Amazon Over Patents

It seems that everyone is patent crazy right now..or at least crazy to file them and not use them or not use them and go after those who make good with something slightly similar. Have we all not had enough. I'm not one to say that if people have good ideas then they are not entitled to file a patent and keep the idea theirs. The thing is...if one is not going to do anything with the patent except hoard them until technology advances enough where people need to use, I think its wrong.

But that is not what is happening in the case of IBM and Amazon.com. IBM is claiming that Amazon.com has "knowingly infringed" on five of IBM's patents. If anyone has seen a real patent book, especially one from IBM, where they must own thousands of patents, it would not be surprising if something was missed.

That said, this case is a little different, as many people pay IBM for a license to sue their patents, which they claim are the basis of Amazon.com's business model. If you want to read more on the story, keep reading below.

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Market Scan
Update -- IBM Sues Amazon Over Patents
Matthew Kirdahy, 10.24.06, 1:25 PM ET
On the eve of Amazon.com’s third-quarter earnings report, IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) announced that it is suing the online retail powerhouse for “knowingly infringing” on five of IBM’s patents.

The most viable defense Amazon.com has against IBM, must somehow disprove the validity of the computer company’s patents. Suffice it to say, the retailer has some homework to do.

“They (Amazon.com) have people doing homework today that I can assure you,” said Ronald Mann, professor at the School of Law at the University of Texas.

Amazon.com did not return a call for comment, but will certainly field questions on the matter when it announces its third-quarter earnings Tuesday after market close.

The retailer’s stock was trading up on Tuesday, showing almost a 2% increase, or 56 cents, compared with the previous market close of $32.88.

IBM shares increased slightly, trading at $91.70.

Mann said that if a company can prove that the same product was in use prior to the issuance of a U.S. patent, then the current patent is void. But in this case, when dealing with Internet retail, a business barely in its teens, it’s unlikely the patents were in use before Amazon.com was established.

“These are high-quality patents and important IBM intellectual property that are core to Amazon.com’s business,” said Ed Barbini, IBM spokesperson. “In fact, Amazon.com has built its business model on these patents.”

In a statement, IBM said the lawsuit involves patents pertaining to Amazon.com’s customer recommendation and purchases, advertising, Web site navigation and data storage.

Mann said the patent that pertains to ordering items using an electronic catalogue is the oldest of the five patents. It was issued in 1994.

“There weren’t a lot of Internet retail stores back then, if any,” he said.

With this new lawsuit, Amazon.com is treading on familiar ground. Mann cited the 1-Click purchasing dispute between IPXL Holdings and Amazon.com, which Amazon.com won in November 2005.

IBM said it would prefer to deal with this without litigation, but more than a dozen attempts since 2002 to get Amazon.com to pay for using these patents proved fruitless. Meanwhile, IBM licenses these patents and others to companies who pay for them.

IBM would not name the companies that are licensed to use these patents.

Charles King, an IT analyst at the Hayward, Calif.-based Pund-IT, said it’s too early to say how this lawsuit would affect Amazon.com’s business. “Where there might be some concern, depending on how long that the suit is out in light of day, any pressure exerted on Amazon.com would come either from the company’s partners or from the large institutional shareholders,” King said. “They could decide that there is a potential liability there."

King also said IBM prides its innovation in the world of technology on intellectual property and certainly values privacy. Taking this issue to the mats is uncharacteristic of the organization, so this approach might get IBM exactly what it wants – just payment.

The company spends about $6 billion on research and development annually. In the past 13 years, IBM has earned more U.S. patents than any other company in the world. Last year, it was granted nearly 3,000 patents.

“The implications of the lawsuit, if it went to court, could be pretty fundamental for Amazon.com if a judge rules in IBM’s favor,” King said. “And the fact that this intellectual property has been licensed would suggest that other companies believe there is value in this material.”

MTV and China's Baidu.com

MTV Networks, owned by Viacom Inc., announced today a landmark content and advertising alliance with Baidu.com, Inc., China's #1 search engine, at a press conference in Beijing. The new strategic partnership will give China's 123 million Internet users easy access to 15,000 hours of MTV and Nickelodeon original video content and music videos licensed by five top Chinese and Asian music companies for online viewing or download through http://www.baidu.com starting today. As part of the agreement, MTV will provide the first-ever branded area featured on Baidu - MTV Zone, which will include advertising at launch by Motorola and P&G. This deal extends MTVN China's digital media position, where MTV has 100% reach of the country's mobile subscribers through partnerships with China Mobile and China Unicom.

More here.

Nickelodeon places tones on iTunes

Nickelodeon has updated its animated selection at iTunes, writes Mediaweek. Before its network premiere on November 18, Skyland may already be previewed in four episodes now available to own. Following the adventures of a brother and his sister in the year 2251, the series' first episode may be downloaded for free at the online store. Meanwhile, numerous clips from The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival, delivering independent animation from around the world, are also available to purchase. Twenty-eight compilations of approximately 180 short films are anticipated to eventually hit iTunes. - Animated News

Where's Your Digital Answer?

I told my mother the other day, of a recent stat that I came across that said that in all of 2005, online purchases totaled approximately $175 billion, which was up a massive 22% over 2004. She didn't believe me. She isn't one of "those" people. She liked getting into her car and going to the mall to shop. She's hesitant...actually scared to shop online, but she's getting to be part of the minority.

Well even if you're not shopping, or the people around you aren't...there are millions who are and they are looking for product to spend on!

How do you target these fine spenders? I ask myself that question all the time. With a limited budget, I try to get the word out about snazzygirl.com on a regular basis, with a marketing cocktail of search marketing, web advertising (blog and site) and affiliate marketing. I do the same for my larger clients who have real advertising budgets. The mix is the same, the money is different.

The pace, in which both ecommerce and online marketing is going to grow, is fast and furious and not likely to stop over the next decade. But to convince traditional companies, that market on television, buses, billboards and in newspapers and magazines that they need to try this new Internet thing out, is sometimes a very difficult sell. Which is curious because I can track (in most cases) online advertising right down to the sale. But what can one say about a billboard...or an overpriced ad on the side of a bus? One might be able to do some expensive focus group research on identity, but that wouldn't track a real sale.

I'm not saying that traditional marketing and advertising is dead, all I'm saying is, add digital to the mix for increased and trackable success.

Additionally, consumers use the Internet as a research tool when investigating a new product, even if they don't or can't buy it online. And according to statistics, it influences more than 25% of retail sales.

It's not just email marketing, it's not just online ads, its one media with several channels. An effective two-punch to add to any campaign and its part of "marketing and advertising" in general for any company. It's not something separate and these divisions need to work together on a multichannel platformed approach that is consistant with the brand.

Call it convergence, call it integration. I call it, needed.

Sony Lands Grouper

Even though Sony bought the video sharing site, Grouper Networks last August, they still have some major issues to contend with such as rights management and the fact that YouTube has surpassed them in popularity by leaps and bounds. It's ironic that half the reason they bought Grouper was because it was so "open" in terms of content. This might get Sony in a whole heap of trouble as copyrighted material keeps landing on their servers.

It will be interesting to see how a media giant handles the situation. On top of that, users are generally hestitant to post personal information on a major site belonging to a large company. Hence the move to "private" YouTube. But now that they've been bought as well, where oh where will people feel comfortable posting now? For free that is.

For more on the story, click here.

eTail World Australasia 2007

Next's year's eTail World Australasia 2007 being held in Sydney, Australia should prove to be an interesting conference. With the advancement of 3G and the fact that, for the first time ever, mobile ecommerce or mcommerce has surpassed online and traditional retail commerce, should make the stories told at this event, worth hearing!