2008 05-09 MediaBytes: ANTI PIRACY BILL - MICROSOFT - BEST BUY - CABLEVISION - WARNER BROS. - NBC

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The US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES signed the MPAA backed Anti-Piracy PRO-IP Act. The act will create a “White House level piracy czar” and is bound to have a major impact on intellectual property right laws in the US.

MICROSOFT has released potential proxy board members from their agreement. The move is a sign that the software giant is not planning on reversing its decision to walk away from its bid to acquire YAHOO any time soon.

BEST BUY has teamed joint venture with UK’s CARPHONE WAREHOUSE. Best Buy confirmed that it will control the joint venture with British mobile device retailer, which it has invested $2.1 billion in. The deal allows Best Buy to expand globally, in the midst of less consumer spending in the US.

CABLEVISION will build a wireless network in New York. The cable provider plans to spend $350 million to start a Wi-F broadband service that it hopes to have running in two years. Unlike the recent CLEARWIRE WiMax deal, Cablevision’s offering will utilize traditional W-Fi.

WARNER BROS. cuts two indie stuios. Warner Brothers will close Picturehouse (Pan’s Labrynth) and Warner Independent Pictures (March of the Penguins) in the coming weeks in an attempt to cut costs. On the heels of shutting down its New Line studio, the move is a clear attempt by Warner’s to trim its overhead and release less films in an already glutinous market.

NBC has bypassed APPLE and formatted “30 Rock” and “The Office” for mobile streaming on the iPhone. While the quality is far from acceptable, the move is notable because by circumventing Apple, NBC can benefit from ad-upported streams, effectively killing third party distribution. The move comes after NBC pulled its shows from iTunes in a dispute over pricing an copy protection.

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