Microsoft's recently refurbished Zune store features a lot of NBC content like Heroes and The Office, but it looks like it may have come at what could be a steep price: NBC recently told the New York Times that it's working with Microsoft to develop "copyright filters" for the Zune that would "remove pirated movies and videos." (We'll pause for a moment so you can gape appropriately.) Granted, it's not clear whether NBC wants to actually delete non-DRM'd media or simply block playback, but apparently the network thinks it's an issue on par with variable pricing, and it's not in the iTunes Store because Apple refuses to cooperate. Microsoft, on the other hand, is apparently cheerfully working on such a solution, dubbed the "copyright cop," and says that it's sympathetic to NBC's concerns because it also suffers from piracy issues. Sigh. Of course, none of this is new territory for NBC or Microsoft: the two companies are working in similar content filtering systems to be implemented at the ISP level with AT&T, and NBC and SanDisk are working on a filter for Sansa players as well. Still, if Microsoft is serious about competing with the iPod, signing up for consumer-hostile DRM systems that actually block playback and potentially delete files just isn't the way to do it -- let's hope this one dies on the vine.

Update: Although a spokesperson told the NYT that Microsoft was working with NBC on anti-piracy efforts, the company is now saying that it has no plans to implement a "copyright cop" in the Zune, and the Zune Insider blog confirms. Great, now just cancel the ISP-level filtering system and we'll be all set.

Bad day for DISH Network, first its satellite is gone for good and now comes word its appeal to overturn TiVo's lawsuit has been denied. That should put an end to the legal push and pull between the companies, with TiVo firmly on top, DISH customers could have their DVRs pulled out from under them. Win in hand, TiVo has a lot more leverage against other providers to put its service on their boxes, (which might not be the worst thing if you've used some cable DVRs) and leaves the company looking a lot more lively.

[Thanks Zatz Not Funny & Thomas Hawk]

In an unusual situation for a company so vocal about protecting intellectual property rights, Microsoft is being sued for allegedly distributing material copyrighted by a Philippine college -- despite the fact that the material in question seems to have only been given to fellow educational professionals. Southeastern College in Pasay City is suing Microsoft and Microsoft Philippines for 100 million Filipino pesos ($2.4 million) for handing out at least 700 CDs in 2005 and 2006 containing the 379-page "SEC Microsoft Office XP Manual," which had been copyrighted by SEC director Conrad Mañalac in 2005 (although work on it reportedly began in 1999). Apparently 10,000 copies of this same manual had previously been licensed from the school by the company in 2004, and retitled for use in a program to train high school teachers. For its part, Microsoft Philippines denies having "improperly distributed additional copies of the curriculum," although it's a little unclear what the company's actual position is, with the following statement -- emailed to the Inquirer.net -- seeming to indicate that the primary concern right now is protecting the mothership: "They brought this matter to our attention a year ago and we worked hard to resolve it, but without success. For all intents and purposes, this is a purely local matter which does not involve Microsoft Corporation." Um, okay, whatever you say. We'll be interested to see if / how Redmond responds to this one...

[Thanks, Mark]

Read - Microsoft sued
Read - Microsoft issues response

It's not clear whether or not a settlement agreement was reached, but photographer Louis Psihoyos, who sued Apple over what he claimed was an infringing use of his "wall of video" image (pictured) in marketing materials for the Apple TV, has dropped his suit. The suit was dropped with prejudice, which means a settlement is likely, but neither party is commenting on the matter. Either way, let's hope Apple is a little more judicious in appropriating art for advertising in the future.

Notice anything missing from the Nokia Music Store launched yesterday? How about Madonna? According to the Wall Street Journal, Warner Music Group -- yeah, that guy -- is withholding their goods due to concerns with copyright abuse at Nokia. No, not with Nokia's Music Store but with their seemingly unrelated MOSH (MObile SHaring) file-sharing service. The other three majors -- Universal, Sony BMG, and EMI -- are all playing nice, however. A Nokia spokesman confirmed the absence stating, "we are hopeful that Warner will be part of Nokia Music Store in the future." Who knew that Madonna could be used like a big stick?

Yesterday YouTube unveiled YouTube Video Identification, a system designed to prevent copyrighted videos from making their way onto the site without the consent of the owner. Rather cunningly, YouTube requires that content owners send in a master copy of all their copyrighted content -- y'know, so they can cross reference it against uploads (nothing to do with Google's aim of indexing everything, ever ... no.) Any data that matches the reference data can be deleted automatically, but only if the content owner says so. According to YouTube chief counsel Zahavah Levine, there will be a way for content owners to set it up so YouTube can scan content on other servers -- removing the requirement for a master copy to be uploaded to YouTube -- although Levine said that method "would be more difficult." For who, Google, or the TV and movie studios?

[Thanks, Michelle]

Mirroring the premature trademark dispute surrounding the launch of the Cisco iPhone in the US, Apple's Canadian launch of its respective iPhone could be delayed due to a trademark dispute with a product that shares the same name as Apple's gadget. Comwave Telecom in Toronto owns the trademark rights to the name "iPhone" in Canada for use on its VoIP products and services, and has filed a complaint with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office over Apple's application for the trademark rights of the name for its future Canadian version of the iPhone. Sounds like a case of how much Apple is willing to pay, or how long they're willing to delay.

Sure, you may get yourself a ticket from local police if you roll around with that in-car stereo cranked, but at least you're not being sued for £200,000 ($407,680). Unfortunately for the Edinburgh-based Kwik-Fit automotive repair center, it actually is being taken to court for that astronomical amount by the Performing Rights Society, which "collects royalties for songwriters and performers." The PRS alleges that "Kwik-Fit mechanics routinely used personal radios while working at locales across the UK and that music, protected by copyright, could be heard by colleagues and customers." Astoundingly, Lord Emslie ruled that the case could actually be heard, so we guess we'll be relying exclusively on headphones from here on out.

[Via Slashdot]

It's beginning to look as though Apple's kinda-sorta "hands off" approach to iPhone hackers turns a bit more "hands on" when it comes to the iPod touch. According to reports, a hacker named "Martyn" had gotten a broken touch, which he was planning to dump the NAND data from so that efforts to create 3rd party applications for the device could be sped up. Apparently, while uploading the data to a private folder on his site, his ISP showed up on the scene and killed the transfer... all at the request of Apple, who (rightfully so) let them know that sharing the code was a copyright infringement. Of course, the interesting news here is that Apple seems to be very actively monitoring channels where all this warranty-voiding software manipulation is being planned and discussed. So next time you're going to reverse engineer one of its products -- keep it quiet.

In the unceasing feud between the RIAA and satellite radio, the agency has rekindled the fire by encouraging the FCC to "require the merged companies to pay higher royalty rates to the record industry." Reportedly, the RIAA argued that the firms were "no longer new, struggling companies that could get away with paying below-market rates," and further salted the wound by insisting that the FCC "make clear that its approval of a merger was conditioned upon the continued protection of sound recordings from unlawful infringement." Of course, a number of senators have already voiced their concern for more limitations on satellite radio streams, but unsurprisingly, it seems like the RIAA wants these lofty wishes to become reality (and in a hurry).

It never looked like those crazy semi-pirates over at AllOfMP3.com would stick around long, and indeed, after a couple years of legal struggles, the site has finally had its plug pulled. Despite the site supposedly barring Russia from WTO entry, and high profile lawsuits filed on behalf of the record labels, it's not clear at this point whether AllOfMP3 was shut down due to an internal decision or an external mandate. Unfortunately for copyright holders, the MediaServices folks behind AllOfMP3 aren't exactly changing directions: they've merely opened up a practical mirror image of AllOfMP3.com over at MP3Sparks.com, and are keeping up with their nefarious ways.

We can't say that we'd recommend a CEO steal property from Google in order to prove a point, but the head honcho of Macmillan Publishers pushed his superego aside and did just that at a recent BookExpo America in NYC. It's no secret that a number of publishers have been up in arms about Google's approach to digitizing their works, but Richard Charkin went so far as to recruit a colleague and swipe a pair of laptops from a Google Books kiosk at the event. About an hour later, the booth attendants actually noticed the missing goods and presumably began to panic, and the haughty executive then had the nerve to return the machines to their rightful owners whilst dropping the "hope you enjoyed a taste of your own medicine" line. He justified the bizarre behavior by suggesting that "there wasn't a sign by the computers informing him not to steal them," apparently referencing Google's controversial tactics when scanning books. That'll show 'em, Mr. Charkin.

[Via TechDirt]

Considering the sensational amount of knockoff gadgetry and counterfeit software that manages to emerge in China, it's only surprising that it has taken this long for a company (or two) to unveil a legitimate solution to at least curb the amount of black market goods that leave the country. Reportedly, Oracle will be teaming up with Hitachi to "jointly market wireless IC tags in China that can be used to identify whether products are real or not," meaning that tagged goods can now be easily identified as authentic when placed over a reader. The tags will be made and distributed by Hitachi and the duo of firms will promote the usage of said anti-piracy measures with the Tokyo-based Ubiquitous ID Center which issues and manages IC tags. Initially, the tags will purportedly be used with tickets for the upcoming Beijing Olympics and Expo 2010 in Shanghai, but there was no word on any planned rollouts or potential takers outside of these two events. Still, for Japanese wares makers that operate in China, ¥10 ($0.08) a pop for these piracy-thwarting tags sounds like an awfully fair deal. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via Yahoo]

As if TiVo honestly needed any more reasons to fear for its life, it looks like the forthcoming version of the General Public License could actually do more "harm to its business." It the firm's most recent regulatory filing, it warned that the third version of the aforementioned license "would prohibit manufacturers of consumer appliances that use open source software from implementing technical measures designed to prevent user modifications," essentially giving the TiVo hackers of the world even fewer hoops to jump through. TiVo fears that if GPLv3 is widely adopted, it may be "unable to incorporate future enhancements to the GNU / Linux operating system into its software," which would obviously affect the outfit in a negative fashion. Notably, Novell has also spoken up about how this latest document could "disrupt its Linux distribution partnership with Microsoft," but unless something major happens rather hastily, the Free Software Foundation reportedly expects GPLv3 to be published sometime this summer.

Nearly a month after Warner Bros. axed advanced screenings in Canada while tagging priacy as the scapegoat, now Canucks are facing another bout with DRM right inside their homes. According to a lengthy list of complaints over at TheGreenButton, it appears that some Canadian cable providers (Rogers and Shaw, namely) are seemingly throwing the broadcast flag onto a questionable amount of content. Essentially, users who are trying to record said programming via their own Windows Vista Media Center setup are receiving all sorts of errors and messages informing them that the material (even on basic cable) they are trying to record is laced with "restrictions set by the broadcaster and / or originator of the content." Interestingly, it seems that the blame here lies more with the cable companies and not some glitch within Vista, as more than a few customers have received responses from their providers suggesting that they ditch the whole PVR idea and instead rely on the company-provided DVR (at a cost, of course). So, dear Canadians, are any of you fighting this same battle?