YAHOO! CHINA SUED BY 11 MUSIC GIANTS FOR RMB 5.5 M

Music industry giants are suing Yahoo! China for alleged copyright infringement. According to the suit, Yahoo! China was helping users download music illegally by providing links to unlicensed music in its search results.
The lawsuit filed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), represents music piracy complaints from eleven companies including Warner Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group PLC and Universal Music Group, the China Daily said.

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Intel Officials Delete Antitrust Memos

AMD had accused Intel of destroying evidence in relation to the antitrust suit. AMD stated, "Through what appears to be a combination of gross communication failures, an ill-conceived plan of document retention and lacklustre oversight by outside counsel, Intel has apparently allowed evidence to be destroyed."

Intel will have to explain what happened to e-mail messages the company acknowledged it lost. And it will demand that its rival create a plan to ensure that no other documents disappear during the course of an antitrust suit that dates back to June 2005.

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EU Tragets Apple Over iTunes

EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva has spoken out against the tie-in between the iPod and Apple's iTunes Store.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs had plans to boycott the Digital Rights Management (DRM). DRM are technologies used by record companies to control and restrict the use of copyrighted material usually associated with music and movies. Jobs is against these regulations as they might have a curtailing effect.
He said, "only 22 out of 1000 songs, or under 3 per cent of the music on the average iPod, is purchased from the iTunes store and protected with a DRM. The remaining 97 per cent of the music is unprotected and playable on any player that can play the open formats."

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AT&T, Yahoo May Backtrack on Co-branding Deal

Yahoo and AT&T are in talks to get back their alliance. The tussle in the partnership could result serious repercussions to Yahoo as it makes an estimated USD 200 million in annual revenue from AT&T.

AT&T declined to comment on the substance of the Wall Street Journal's report, but said it "is rooted in the open and ongoing dialogue we maintain."

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Software Export in India to Plunge in The Long Run: Karnik

Indian IT trade body National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has said that the software industry will reach the export target of USD 60 billion by 2010 but the long-term growth rate and profitability will fall on account of less government support and imposition of taxes.
"The present momentum should enable us to reach the target of USD 60 billion of exports in 2010. The software export industry will be able to meet the indicated export revenue of USD 31.6 billion this fiscal. But in the long run, with such discouraging policies, we expect a fall in growth rates and bottom lines, since the small and medium players in particular will be seriously impacted by these changes," Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said.

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SECUDE, a provider of authorization, encryption, data integrity and the management of digital identities, and Siemens have agreed to enter into a part

SECUDE, a provider of authorization, encryption, data integrity and the management of digital identities, and Siemens have agreed to enter into a partnership with an intention to capitalise on each others complementary technologies and coordinate marketing and sales efforts on a global scale to service and support the market. “The driver for this partnership is that the whole is more than the sum of its parts”, states Doris Hermann, VP and General Manager Security and Identity management, Siemens AG.

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WINDOWS LIVE SEARCH HEAD TO LEAVE MICROSOFT

Christopher Payne, the head of Windows Live Search, the Microsoft search engine is quitting the firm to start his own business.
Microsoft has also said that the other person in charge of the Windows search project Blake Irvingtoo is leaving the company.

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Indian IT Services Companies Hired Over A Lakh People

India is seeing a huge surge when it comes to hiring in the IT industry. Analysts say this demand is escalating the wages in India. In a quarterly report released, Wipro has said its workforce rose by nearly 18 per cent, adding 5,546 employees in the three-month quarter that ended September 30, to bring its total to 37,063. For the same period one year earlier, the company reported 24,500 employees.

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Six Indian Techies in Forbes Billionaires List

The Forbes Billionaire list has six IT bigwigs enlisted on it. The richest Indian in the technology arena is Azim Premji of Wipro in the 21st place on the list with a net income of USD 17.1 billion.

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Former Gateway Officials Liable in SEC Fraud Case

Two former Gateway officials were accused of manipulating earnings four years ago. The officials were found guilty for breaching fraud and record-keeping laws and making false statements, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
"The desire to meet Wall Street analysts‘ expectations is no excuse for accounting tricks and other deceptive practices," said Randall R. Lee, director of the SEC’s Pacific Regional Office in Los Angeles.

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Friendster Hooks Up with Google for Ads

Social networking site Friendster has inked a multi-year search and keyword-targeted advertising agreement with Google. The financial details of the contract have not been published.
Google has been giving the social networking sites ads that are relevant to the content shown on a Web page. Under the terms of the deal, Friendster will exhibit ads from Google founded on Web search requests.

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Mark Cuban Tangles With Google Regarding Illegal Movie Clips

Magnolia Pictures, the film company owned by Mark Cuban, has sued Google for the illegal movie clips uploaded to Google’s Video web site. He wants the names of the people behind this act.
"We don't expect to get valid user information," Cuban said. "If we do, we will contact them and ask them what induced them to upload content they don't own."
"We cannot confirm that we have received a subpoena at this time, however Google complies with valid US legal process, such as a valid court order or subpoena," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "As a matter of policy we do not publicly discuss legal matters."

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