HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

On April 7, the Digital HHR team will be presenting “App-endectomy: Removing the Mystery from the App Ecosystem“, the next in its on-going series of live, CLE-accredited webinars.

The explosive popularity of tablets, smartphones and other Internet-connected consumer devices has ushered in a new technology ecosystem driven by Apps. These self-contained software programs have not only provided the stakeholders involved with a compelling way to exploit everything from movies and games to magazines and newspapers, but have created a thriving new marketplace poised for ongoing, accelerated growth. While the stakeholders are many, the myriad of complex business and legal issues facing them are no less staggering in number. For publishers, content creators, App developers, content distributors, aggregators, storefront operators and service providers, the successful navigation of a rapidly evolving landscape of shifting terms and conditions, privacy regulations, content restrictions and corresponding business considerations across multiple devices and platforms has proven a daunting but essential exercise for leveraging the economic opportunities available.

In this CLE-accredited webinar, the DigitalHHR team will explore the critical business and legal challenges associated with the development, publication, distribution, sale and use of Apps. We will discuss the contours of in-App purchases, subscription-based offerings, and “freemium” models, as well as in-App advertising and App-based ad networks. We will analyze the evolving privacy terms and conditions associated with the use of Apps, and the corresponding laws, regulations and case law impacting end user data collection, disclosure and ownership. We will also address the terms and requirements promulgated by the various platform operators, including Apple, RIM (Blackberry) and Google (Android), and how they impact stakeholders’ participation across the different App environments.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2011 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT.

To register, please click here.

As we recently reported here, a  new Internet-connected software application, called “ivi tv”, was just released that allows pc, mac and linux end users to stream live feeds from over-the-air television stations to their computers anywhere in the world. Unlike other online content distributors, however, the start-up recently confirmed that it has elected not to negotiate with the copyright holders for the license of its programming, and has instead elected to wager its future on a seemingly liberal interpretation of certain provisions of the Copyright Act (the “Act”), which permit qualifying “cable systems” to rebroadcast over-the-air television signals upon the payment of certain statutorily mandated revenues (see Section 111).

As we suspected, the response from the entertainment community has been swift, and the company has since received a barrage of cease and desist letters from television networks, movie studios, sports leagues, broadcasters, syndicators and others in the entertainment industry alleging that the operation of the service as currently conducted amounts to copyright infringement. In response, the company has now filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in Seattle district court alleging that by complying with the Act’s compulsory licensing scheme in Section 111 “it has not infringed any of the copyrights owned by the any of the Defendants.”

We will obviously keep an eye on future developments as this complaint now moves its way through the court system and the entertainment industry’s forthcoming response.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently opened an inquiry into Google Voice, the popular messaging and call service offered by Google, and Google’s practice of blocking certain calls.   The inquiry was prompted by complaints from AT&T to the FCC accusing Google of unfairly blocking calls to certain numbers in rural areas where local phone companies charge high connections fees.  A bipartisan group of 20 Congressional members also submitted a letter asking the FCC to open an investigation into Google’s voice application.  Continue Reading »

News reports in recent weeks have revealed how disputes over the ownership of certain critical IP may derail eBay’s $1.9 billion deal to sell a stake in the well-known internet communications company Skype.  In the latest development companies owned by the founders of Skype filed additional lawsuits last week against eBay and its future investors. At the heart of the dispute is the peer-to-peer technology called “global index” (“GI”) that is critical to Skype’s success.  Somewhat surprisingly, the GI technology, which was developed by Skype’s founders, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, is not owned by eBay or Skype.  Rather it is owned by Joltid Ltd., a company controlled by Friis and Zennstrom.  Continue Reading »

Hughes Hubbard & Reed announced today that Clark Siegel, formerly co-chair of the Intellectual Property Group and a member of the Entertainment Department at Irell & Manella, has joined Hughes Hubbard’s Los Angeles office as a partner. Mr. Siegel’s practice involves traditional entertainment and media, including film, television and video game development, production, distribution and finance, as well the convergence of technology and entertainment and the delivery and exploitation of content through new media, platforms and technology. Continue Reading »