licensing
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Apple won't pay royalties during Music's trial period
A leaked Apple Music contract surfaced last week containing details about how it plans to compensate indie labels for music streamed during the trial period. According to the document Apple won't pay royalties to independent music labels -- or unsigned artists, we'd imagine -- while users test drive the app. Re/code confirmed that the company won't pay royalties to any labels, major or indie, for tracks users stream during the trial in an interview with Apple's Robert Kondrk, an executive who is in on the negotiations.
SoundCloud inks licensing deal with 20,000 indie labels
SoundCloud continues to lend a hand to independent artists, and today the music site announced a royalty agreement with Merlin. While the name may not ring a bell, Merlin works with 20,000 indie labels and distributors including Beggars Group (Vampire Weekend), Secretly Group (Bon Iver), Domino (Animal Collective), Kontor Records (Tiësto) and more. Merlin works with smaller outfits to negotiate things like royalties and licensing, which is exactly what it's done here with SoundCloud. The deal means that on top of being able to pipe in content from labels and distro, the streaming repository will offer compensation when tunes are played. "You'll also be able to discover and listen to more new tracks from the best independent label creators on the planet, safe in the knowledge they'll now have the opportunity to get paid while you listen," a blog post announcing the deal explains.
Google's staring down the barrel of a Russian antitrust probe
It's only been two days since Russian search giant Yandex accused Google of anticompetitive mobile shenanigans, and the country's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has already leapt into action. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier today that Russia's antitrust body is kicking off a probe investigating how Google requires some smartphone makers to preload its apps onto their devices before they hit store shelves. If those deals are found to have run afoul of Russian law, Google could be on the hook for some hefty fines and might even have to change how it licenses Android to device makers.
Cellist disagrees with YouTube Music Key over rule #4,080
It's been a few months since Google launched its YouTube Music Key service, and now we may be finding out how it plans to keep the digital shelves stocked. Musician Zoë Keating blogged last week complaining that YouTube threatened to block her music -- she plays "the cello and the computer" sampling her own sounds as part of the performance -- from streaming unless she signed a 5-year agreement licensing her work for the new service, among other changes. So what's going on? (Other than the usual explanation.) According to Keating, she uses ContentID to track and, if she chooses to, get paid when someone uses her music in their videos. The new contract Google is offering is all-encompassing when it comes to monetization, so to keep ContentID her music will be included in both the free and premium services, the entire catalog will have ads on it, and new music is required to come to YouTube at the same time it arrives anywhere else.
Nintendo and Philips resolve 'virtual body' dispute
Nintendo and Philips resolved their patent disputes by signing a licensing agreement, the technology company announced. Per the agreement, both Nintendo and Philips will "cross-license portions of each company's patent portfolio." However, Philips did not disclose any other terms or financial details for the licensing agreement. Philips filed a complaint against Nintendo in May, alleging that the video game maker infringed on Philips' patent '379, "Virtual Body Control Device." Philips said it sent notice of the alleged infringement to Nintendo in December 2011, claiming a second instance of infringement in May for patent '231, "User Interface System Based on Pointing Device." In June, a UK court found that Nintendo's reasons for developing various devices and controllers for its Wii, Wii U and DS consoles with both motion-sensing tech and cameras in it to be "unconvincing." [Image: Nintendo]
Nokia wants other companies to pay for its iconic brand
Nokia may have sold its smartphone line to Microsoft, but it held on to one of the crown jewels: its brand. The Finnish company has the world's 98th most valuable name at around $3.2 billion and plans to profit by licensing it to other companies, along with its technology and patent portfolios. In a presentation (PDF) Nokia Technologies President Ramzi Haidamus said that the company is free to lend its name to any non-phone products, as long as "the brand is relevant." There was no mention of the companies it may work with, but Haidamus said that the product would need to look like it was made by Nokia.
Google and LG will license each other's patents for the next decade
Samsung isn't the only Android device maker getting cozy with Google's patents, apparently. LG has just entered into a cross-licensing deal with Google that will let the two companies use each other's patents (including new ones) for the next 10 years. The two sides are coy about just why they've forged the long-term pact, although there are few possibilities. For a start, one or both sides may simply want to borrow the other's features -- a blanket agreement eliminates the chances of lawsuits and simplifies the licensing process. There's also a chance that Google is using the deal to guarantee that LG won't stray too far from the official Android strategy. It's not certain that this is the case, though; unlike Samsung, LG hasn't been in a rush to replace Google software and services with its own. Whatever the motivations, it's doubtful that these companies will duke it out in the courtroom any time soon.
SoundCloud inks its first major label deal, eyes streaming service in 2015
After rumors swirled for months regarding SoundCloud's pending licensing deals with major labels, Warner Music Group is the first to sign on. As part of the agreement, the German audio-streaming site will shell out funds each time one of the labels' songs are spun. What's more, it seems the crux of the deal was that SoundCloud would guarantee it'd be launching its own subscription service -- which is said to happen during the first half of 2015.
Artist sues pet toy company over Angry Birds licensing profits
Seattle artist Juli Adams has filed suit against pet product manufacturer Hartz, alleging that the company denied her profits when it ditched her trademarked "Angry Birds" toy line in favor of licensed products based on Rovio's mobile hit Angry Birds. Adams' own "Angry Birds" lineup of catnip-filled toys predates Rovio's franchise, originally launching in partnership with Hartz in November 2006. As part of the agreement, Hartz received limited licensing rights, allowing it to sell the toys in pet stores while forbidding the licensing of Adams' intellectual property to third parties. Adams retained full intellectual property rights in the partnership. After the Angry Birds mobile game debuted in 2009, Hartz began distributing Rovio-licensed toys while its partnership with Adams was still in effect. Adams' representing attorney Anthony Shapiro claims that Hartz subsequently earned "tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars from sales of the Angry Birds pet toys," without legal property rights to the trademark. The suit alleges that Hartz later informed Adams that she could no longer use the "Angry Birds" name due to a licensing conflict. While Rovio had trademarked the Angry Birds name for licensed children's toys, clothing and other products, it specifically excluded pet toys from its attempted trademarks, deferring to Hartz' trademark that it established in partnership with Adams. Hartz is the sole named defendant in Adams' case; Rovio is not targeted in the suit. Adams' complaint seeks "disgorgement of all of Hartz's ill-gotten gains, a reasonable royalty as owed to her under the Agreement, and an accounting, as well as a return of her Intellectual Property, including all associated trademarks and copyright registrations for 'Angry Birds' pet toys." [Image: Hartz / Adams / Rovio]
FIFA 15 won't feature Brazilian clubs due to licensing
Unlike FIFA 14, Brazilian domestic clubs and the players belonging to them don't feature in FIFA 15. EA revealed this week that, because of changes to how Brazil's domestic league licenses players - the company didn't note what those changes might be - it failed to reach an agreement that would let players feature in its latest sportsballer. So, while players in Brazil's national team and Brazilian players based abroad still feature, it's adeus to the likes of Palmieras, Santos and Flamengo. After Brazil's disassembling by Germany at the World Cup, we wonder if the country's fans would have things that way 'round. With that elephant in the room crudely dealt with, all that's left to say is FIFA 15 is coming to another bevy of platforms this year, starting with Xbox One, PS4 and PC on September 23 in North America, and September 26 in Europe.
Could future Lumia handsets come with Canon lenses?
As smartphone imaging gets better, the market for point-and-shoot cameras has evaporated. Perhaps sensing this shift in the wind, Canon has signed a patent-licensing deal with Microsoft where both companies will have easy access to each other's technological secrets. Dour-minded individuals may say that this is just some legal mutual arse-covering which is commonplace in these litigious times. That's probably true, but wouldn't it be great if we saw Canon's imaging technology wind up in a future generation of PureView device? After all, the company does need some new expertise after its last expert defected to the other side.
Skylanders enters breakfast cereal territory
Skylanders-branded cereal and fruit snacks may soon stock the shelves at your local grocery store thanks to the franchise's newly expanded licensing business, Games Industry reports. Publisher Activision Blizzard announced at the Licensing Expo 2014 that it has partnered with 175 companies worldwide in licensing its Skylanders franchise for officially sanctioned merchandise. Activision's latest partnerships with General Mills, IDW, and Crayola will soon introduce Skylanders-branded merchandise like magazines, coloring books, and snacks. The next entry in the multiplatform Skylanders franchise, Skylanders Trap Team, will premiere on October 5 in North America, introducing outlandish new characters like tomato-spewing artichokes and rockstar werewolves. [Image: Activision Blizzard]
EA may pay almost $1,000 per college athlete for sports game settlement
Student athletes whose likenesses were used in EA's NCAA football and basketball games will receive up to $951 for each year they were featured in the games, according to a proposed settlement being put forth for approval by a judge. While EA proposed a $40 million settlement in September 2013 for its ongoing litigation with student athletes over its college sports series stemming back to May 2009, it hasn't been clear how that money would divide among the parties in the lawsuit until now. More than 100,000 current and former college athletes will have the potential to claim part of the settlement, according to CBS Sports. Of those athletes, roughly 7,000 of them are current players, based on estimates from Rob Carey, an attorney for former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller. EA tacked on an extra $8 million in expenses related to the settlement in its fiscal 2014 financial results in May. Its proposed settlement followed the cancellation of its 2014 college football game, which would have been without the NCAA's logos and marks after the two parted ways in July 2013. [Image: EA Sports]
Dell and Microsoft sign mutually helpful Android licensing deal
Microsoft's patent agreements with Android and Chrome OS device builders are usually one-sided: the manufacturers sign licensing deals, and Microsoft agrees not to sue them into oblivion. However, the crew in Redmond has just broken with that tradition by forging a cross-licensing pact with Dell. While Dell will still have to pay royalties whenever it sells Google-powered hardware, it's also licensing patents to Microsoft for use in Xbox consoles. Just what the deal means for gamers (if anything) isn't clear. It's safe to presume, though, that Dell can continue to sell Android tablets and Chromebooks without fear of a legal firestorm.
NFL Players Association contest rewards mobile dev with license this season
In the world of professional sports licensing, one of the more widely maligned situations is the exclusive NFL license held by Electronic Arts for home console games. That's just one aspect of sports licensing, as organizations that stand as players unions are also able to license out the images and likenesses of athletes within the union, and that's what the NFL Player's Association (NFLPA) is doing in a new contest. From March 20 through April 20, NFL Players Inc, the licensing and marketing branch of the NFLPA, is accepting entries from both independent developers and established studios to determine the "next big thing in mobile gaming." The pro football players union will select three finalists, each given the opportunity to pitch their game idea to the NFL Players Inc (NFLPI) executive board. The winner will be granted the NFLPA license for the 2014-2015 NFL season for use on mobile devices, though the announcement does not indicate that the license is on an exclusive basis. The license covers NFLPI trademarks and the "names, likenesses, uniform numbers, photographs, voices, replica signatures, and biographical information of active NFL players." Of course, without the separate NFL license, developers won't be able to include team names and logos in their games. Additionally, NFL Players Inc will put forth $10,000 to market the winning entry via its "Activate" promotion platform, which streamlines the endorsement process for athletes on social media. Those interested in entering the contest can fill out the submission form (PDF) on the NFLPA's website. [Image: NFL Players Association]
500px now lets Prime sellers keep most of the cash from their photos
When 500px unveiled its Prime photo licensing store, it stirred up a hornet's nest -- many photographers were outraged that the image host would keep most of the cash from their sales. Give credit to the company for having a change of heart, though. It just launched Prime in beta, and the royalty rates have become much more favorable. While 500px now sells all photos at a $250 flat rate (instead of a $250 minimum), photo owners get 70 percent of that revenue; unless you regularly sell pictures at higher prices, you stand to earn considerably more per shot. You'll have to get an invitation to the beta to give Prime a chance, but the revamped service could be a sweeter deal if you'd make a pittance from rival photo services.
Report: EA requested college athlete likenesses prior to NCAA lawsuit
The NCAA reportedly considered licensing the names and likeness of student athletes to Electronic Arts for its college sports games before the publisher faced its class action suit led by Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller in May 2009. Documents from the ongoing Ed O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit reveal that EA sought to depict the athletes "just as they are shown on TV broadcasts" as of 2007, AL.com reported. "This means putting student-athlete names on rosters and on jerseys in the game, and secondarily using facial likenesses (this could be done in stages)," the NCAA document in question stated. The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) was also involved in the discussion, as documents stating the CLC's position involved in the O'Bannon lawsuit said that "using the rosters in the games, and maybe the names of student-athletes on jerseys in the game would be worthwhile." The documents also reportedly state that the NCAA was aware that EA already based rosters for its college sports games on real-life athletes. While EA and the CLC settled its lawsuit with student athletes to the tune of $40 million last year after canceling its college football game in development for this year, the O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit only just reached a new milestone today: U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered that settlement talks between both parties begin. The NCAA also sued EA and the CLC in November, alleging that EA failed to agree to compensate the NCAA for losses related to legal claims from student athletes after its proposed settlement. [Image: NCAA]
Microsoft is cutting Windows prices to compete with Android and Chrome OS
At present, it's tricky to make Windows PCs that cost as little as basic Android tablets and Chromebooks. While Microsoft charges vendors $50 to use Windows, Google often gives its software away. The crew in Redmond may have found a way to narrow the price gap, though. Bloomberg claims that Microsoft is cutting Windows 8.1's license fee to $15 for any device that sells for less than $250, letting builders offer very cheap Windows PCs without destroying their profits. The developer isn't commenting on the reported discount, but this would be a familiar strategy; Microsoft slashed Windows XP's pricing to wipe out Linux netbooks a few years ago. There's no guarantee that the company will repeat its earlier success if the lower Windows 8.1 prices take effect. However, it may feel compelled to act when PC shipments are still declining and mobile OS tablets are on the rise -- the status quo clearly isn't working.
Nokia and HTC end their patent dispute, agree to license each other's tech
Nokia and HTC have officially put all this patent litigation nonsense behind them. The two have settled their disputes, signed an agreement to license each others technology, and even decided to explore further opportunities to collaborate. The details are confidential, as they usually are in these circumstances, and the reasoning behind the move are not entirely clear... not that we're complaining. It could be that Nokia and HTC have realized there are competitors out there with deeper pockets and better stocked patent arsenals, and this alliance is simply to protect themselves against other aggressors. Or, it could be that Nokia is trying to get all its legal ducks in a row ahead of the impending Microsoft acquisition. Whatever the impetus, we're just glad that this is one less intellectual property rivalry we'll have to cover.
Microsoft to use Foursquare data in Bing and Windows products
It may not be the biggest news to come out of Redmond in recent hours. Still, the Windows faithful will no doubt be interested to hear about a licensing agreement involving two pretty notable outfits. Today, Foursquare announced it has struck a deal with Microsoft to use its location data in Bing services and Windows-powered devices. This, naturally, includes search and maps for Bing; and, for Windows, phones, tablets, laptops and desktops -- and yes, convertibles too. In a statement, Foursquare notes that, "in the near future," Microsoft will be utilizing the newly acquired license to enhance its products with "contextually-aware experiences and the best recommendations of any service in the world." That's not it, however, as Foursquare also revealed Microsoft has invested ($15 million) into its socially-driven company, which it says will help the service continue to grow and be accessible by more people.
