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Angry Birds soda release makes for huge sales jump
Yes indeed: Angry Birds soda. A Nordic beverage company named Olvi got the rights from Rovio to make some Angry Birds-branded sugar water, and apparently it's a huge hit for them, raising the company's sales by 85 percent. Exports were especially huge, going from 3 percent of Olvi's market to a whole 20 percent, with exports focusing primarily on Spain, Norway and the UK. There's no indication that any of this drink has made it over to the United States for sale just yet, so if you have a chance to try some, you'll have to let us know how it tastes. Hopefully "eggy" isn't a word included in the description. This is far from the last we'll hear about Angry Birds merch, especially with that movie set to arrive in the next few years. You can bet that even bigger companies are looking at sales figures like this, and then lining up to make a deal with Rovio as fast as they can.
EA kills licensing deals with gun makers, keeps those guns in games [Update]
Behind the scenes, EA is dropping licensing ties to real-life gun manufacturers, but on-screen it still intends to use branded guns in its games. Most recently, EA has worked with gun manufacturers such as McMillan Group International and gun magazine maker Magpul to promote Medal of Honor: Warfighter, but now those deals are off – even though EA still plans to use name-brand guns in its shooters. "We're telling a story and we have a point of view," EA Labels President Frank Gibeau tells Reuters. "A book doesn't pay for saying the word 'Colt,' for example." EA spokesman Jeff Brown says branded weapons lend games "enhanced authenticity," which is why EA wants to keep them in its games. However, all official agreements between EA and gun companies are now severed. "The action games we will release this year will not include licensed images of weapons," Brown says. Following December's mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the NRA and a handful of politicians and pundits blamed video games for encouraging gun violence. One week after the shooting, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said video games represented "a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people." Brown says that the NRA's comments have nothing to do with its decision: "The response from our audience was pretty clear: They feel the comments from the NRA were a simple attempt to change the subject." EA is currently involved in a lawsuit with Bell Helicopter, who argues that use of its helicopters in the Battlefield games goes beyond fair use and infringes on Bell's trademark. A jury trial is set for June to decide the issue, which could easily apply to EA's new gun-licensing theory. Update: Jeff Brown tells Ars Technica that EA has never paid a licensing fee to a gun manufacturer, nor has it been paid to use specific branded guns in its games. EA will simply continue this practice in the future. "No other EA game or service has used licensed gun images in a game," Brown says. EA did work with McMillan and Magpul for that Medal of Honor: Warfighter campaign, a charity benefiting veterans that encouraged gun makers featured in the game to donate. Those that did were featured on a Warfighter sub-page as "authentic brands" in the game. All of the money went straight to the charity, Brown says.
The Road to Mordor: Could Lord of the Rings Online end in 2014?
Almost two years ago, Star Wars Galaxies players were rocked to their core by the news that their virtual world was to be sunsetted at the end of the year. Despite obvious SOE love for the title and player petitions, the call was already made: LucasArts didn't want to renew the contract with SOE, and that was that. Because of an IP, an entire galaxy was lost. It's one of the "cons" of IP-based MMOs. Because there is licensing and contracts and other legal mumbo-jumbo involved, an online game that is completely wedded to an intellectual property has the added danger of being shut down completely if the IP is denied to the studio. SWG is a sobering lesson as to how this can happen to an otherwise healthy game. If you haven't noticed already, Lord of the Rings Online is somewhat inspired by a certain IP. This IP can survive without the game, but the opposite is not true. So the scary question that we'd rather not ask is this: What if Turbine loses the rights have its game set in the Lord of the Rings universe? It's not an unreasonable question. And what makes it even scarier is that it could conceivably happen as early as next year.
THQ owed WWE $7.6 million, disclosure statement reveals
A recent disclosure statement filed by THQ revealed details of the terms the publisher came to with the WWE and series developer Yuke's when the publisher folded. At the time of THQ's bankruptcy filing in December 2012, it owed approximately $7.6 million to WWE for marketing and royalties expenses, as well as $15 million to $20 million to Yuke's.According to the statement, THQ, WWE and Yuke's all signed termination agreements on February 12, 2013 that relieved THQ of responsibility in paying WWE and Yuke's of those claims. THQ agreed to pay WWE royalties for sales of WWE games during its Chapter 11 case, and will also pay Yuke's $250,000 in settlement for royalties from sales during the time of its bankruptcy filing.As a result, WWE and Yuke's terminated existing contracts with THQ in order to pursue a publishing agreement for future WWE games with Take-Two. Damage claims against THQ that were eliminated as a result of the termination agreement "may have exceeded $60 million," according to the document.
Disney halts game development at LucasArts, moves to licensed Star Wars titles
If you're old enough to have played PC games for more than a decade, LucasArts (originally LucasFilm Games) likely has a permanent place in your heart after a string of legendary adventure and flight combat releases. You'll unfortunately have to put the company as you knew it squarely in the past -- Lucasfilm's new owner, Disney, is ending internal development at LucasArts. The software house is shifting to a licensing model for Star Wars games, reportedly "minimizing the company's risk" while expanding the range of games on offer. There's a chance that in-progress titles like Star Wars 1313 will survive with outside help, according to a spokesperson in touch with GameInformer, but talk of layoffs from Kotaku dampens any chances for direct follow-ups to favorites like Grim Fandango. We won't mourn too much when personas like Ron Gilbert, Lawrence Holland and Tim Schafer have long since moved on to other companies -- still, it's unquestionably the end of an era for game and movie fans alike.
Streaming radio may be the next frontier for Apple's music efforts
In a rather interesting article last week detailing music service Pandora's ongoing struggle with record labels' streaming fees, The Verge says that "iRadio," Apple's rumored Pandora competitor, is being primed for a launch this Summer. "Much has been written about Apple's plan to launch a Pandora-esque service this year. Now multiple music industry insiders have told The Verge that significant progress has been made in the talks with two of the top labels: Universal and Warner. One of the sources said 'iRadio is coming. There's no doubt about it anymore.' Apple is pushing hard for a summertime launch." Given the seemingly fickle nature of record labels and Apple's well-known intransigence when it comes to negotiations, our advice is to take this report with a grain of salt. Still, rumors of Apple's interest in launching its own streaming music service have persisted for quite some time. The likeliest sticking points in Apple's efforts to launch an iRadio service are the royalty payments to music labels. Most recently, the New York Post claimed that Apple was hoping to pay record labels about US$0.06 per 100 songs streamed. To put that into context, Pandora currently pays record labels 12 cents per 100 songs streamed. Meanwhile, Spotify (which allows consumers to select individual songs for playing / mobile sync, in addition to its streaming programming) pays record labels 36 cents per every 100 songs streamed. As to why Apple wants to get into the music streaming business: it's always helpful to follow the money. To that end, approximately 50 percent of Apple's iTunes revenue originates from purchases made on mobile devices. And when you also consider that both Pandora and Spotify are extremely popular iOS applications, it's clear that there's already a huge market for music streaming. It only makes sense that Apple would want a piece of that pie. With a streaming radio service under the iTunes umbrella, Apple could generate revenue from advertising and music subscriptions -- all the while funneling customers who want to buy songs from the iRadio service to the iTunes Music Store. While record labels might be wary of ceding any ground to Apple, they shouldn't let old grudges get in the way of acquiring new revenue streams. Streaming radio is a great idea, as long as there's an ecosystem of mobile devices to listen in. While there have been upwards of 500 million iOS devices sold, Apple says nearly 300 million (60 percent) of those devices have shipped with or have been updated to iOS 6 (as of January 2013). The takeaway is that iOS users, more so than their Android counterparts, are much more likely to upgrade to the most current available mobile OS version. [In fairness, with Android updates bottlenecked through the mobile carriers, a much smaller proportion of the Android installed base is eligible to run the latest version. –Ed.] Consequently, if Apple updates iOS such that an iRadio service is embedded into the Music app -- or perhaps as a featured standalone app, in the same fashion that the Podcasts app has been broken out from Music -- it may very well shake up the digital musical landscape yet again.
Nikon to pay Microsoft for Android-related patent license
Microsoft believes every Android device maker owes money for (reportedly) using its patents, and it's been striking a lot of matching royalty deals that mostly focus on phone designers. While there wasn't necessarily much doubt, we can confirm today that dedicated camera makers aren't exempt: Nikon just signed a similar deal. Although the terms are once again secret, the agreement will see Nikon pay Microsoft a royalty for "certain" cameras running Android, which likely involves the Coolpix S800c as well as any future shooters. In case you're wondering, Samsung's broader patent license deal already covers the Galaxy Camera. This new pact mostly gives Nikon equal treatment -- and shows that Microsoft casts a wide net.
ASCAP announces music license for web/app developers
Developers wanting to stream popular music in their mobile apps now have an inexpensive way to do so legally. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) launched the new ASCAP PLAY MUSIC License for Websites and Mobile Apps last month, allowing developers to pay a low annual fee of US$240 for access to the ASCAP catalog. That catalog of music is nothing to sneeze at; ASCAP currently counts over 8.5 million works of music in its library. According to ASCAP, owners of websites and developers of mobile apps can buy the license online. There's no reporting requirement, making it simple for devs and admins to legally use some amazing music in their products. The requirements are simple -- if your web or mobile app has fewer than 30,000 users visits per month, it has less than $2,000 a month in revenue and you can pay for the license with Visa or MasterCard, you're eligible.
Kodak licenses its name to JK Imaging for cameras and projectors
Kodak has been offloading many of its signature businesses, and we're seeing a another symbolic changing of the guard today: after deciding to quit digital cameras last year, the company is licensing rights to make Kodak-branded cameras to JK Imaging, a subsidiary of global supplier JA Capital Holdings. No, we're not expecting those names to be immediately recognizable, although the Kodak-badged cameras, pocket camcorders and projectors that should result from the deal will be familiar enough. While it's unfortunate that any future Kodak cameras won't come straight from the original source, we won't judge just yet -- after all, similar deals have led to surprising new directions for some of Kodak's competitors.
The Daily Grind: What licensed property would you prefer not to see as an MMO?
I've become completely enraptured by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I'm not alone in this regard. But odd though it might sound, I'm not really hoping for the show to move into the MMO space soon or, well, ever. It's a great setting, and it's a lot of fun, but I just can't help but feel as if it would lose something in the translation, especially as it almost certainly would be designed trying to appeal to two vastly different age groups. Sometimes, even if we like a setting, it just doesn't translate well to an online game. Maybe it's too focused on a specific set of characters, maybe it's aimed at disparate audiences, maybe it just doesn't lend itself to much variety in gameplay. So what licensed property do you like that you would rather not see adapted to an online game? Or are you happy to see anything you like turned into an MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
HTC exec lauds licensing agreement with Apple
Ray Yam is the president of HTC China, and he recently said in an interview with the Economic Observer of China that the company's recent licensing agreement with Apple will "pay off" sometime this new year in 2013. HTC and Apple, you may remember, finally settled a longtime patent disagreement back in November, and Yam says the company is ready and eager to move on. In the interview, he called the lawsuits "a sword hanging over our heads," and said that being free of the disagreement will open up the company to "take broader steps" and "put more energy into innovation." Analysts agree, saying that HTC's access to the licensed part of Apple's patent library means the company has a much better chance at navigating the market of new smartphones going forward. Previously, says one analyst, the company would have to have spent money on workarounds and coming up with alternative solutions to these patents, but now, HTC can move forward onto new innovations rather than trying to remake the past. That's good news for HTC, obviously, and it's good news even for us Apple fans, as it means more competition on innovations in the future. Apple certainly hasn't shared every secret it knows, but at least this agreement means an end to the back-and-forth accusations this case had running in the past. [via BGR]
Apple ends Kickstarter project over Lightning licensing rules (updated)
Update: Ars Technica reports that Apple has reversed course on its decision and is allowing 30-pin and Lightning dock connectors to be on the same device for charging. The team behind the Kickstarter-funded POP power station must refund all the money it collected after it failed to get approval from Apple to use the Lightning cable in its device. The POP portable power station is a high-capacity charger with four built-in retractable cords that charge an iPhone, iPad or Android device. Launched with the slogan "Power where you need it," the POP could charge multiple devices at once using either power from an outlet or from an integrated 26,000 mAh battery. The project stumbled when it failed to get approval from Apple to use the company's Lightning connector. Apple has a strict program that governs the use of its Lightning connector and the POP power station didn't meet the company's requirements that the connector be used alone in a product. A device with a Lightning connector cannot be paired with an Android-compatible microUSB cable or even a 30-pin cable for older Apple devices. Edison Junior, the company behind the Kickstarter program, is disappointed with this decision and has decided to abandon further work on the project. The company is refunding all the funds collected from supporters and absorbing any credit card fees as well as a whopping 5 percent Kickstarter fee totaling US$11,000. Edison Junior CEO Jamie Siminoff told Wired that the company would consider releasing the power station in an all-Android version or with Apple's older 30-pin connector, if there was enough demand from customers or retailers. [Via Wired]
Google breaks ground with pan-European music deal, shows that streaming knows no borders
We now know how Google could offer its European music services to multiple countries so quickly. The search firm took advantage of a new hub approach to licensing at Armonia, an alliance between publishers in France, Italy and Spain, to get rights to about 5.5 million works from 35 countries inside and outside of Europe. The pact should have financial terms similar to those for Amazon and Apple, but it's more notable as a rare (if not pioneering) European digital music agreement that reaches much of the continent in one shot -- those competitors' earlier deals required slower, country-by-country negotiations that ultimately sparked regulatory problems. While we're not bracing ourselves for full catalog access in the Czech Republic in the near future, the Armonia license could be a watershed moment for not just Google Music, but any digital music shop that wants to get a fresh start in the Old World.
Seeking Alpha: Apple could make $4 billion a year from Android sales
Apple's cross-licensing deal with HTC seems like a good idea just from the viewpoint that it keeps the two companies out of the courtroom for a decade. Now J.M. Manness, writing for Seeking Alpha, points out that the deal and others like it could be a complete windfall for Apple. The company could make about US$4 billion a year from sales of Android phones if it was able to sign similar deals with all manufacturers using Google's mobile OS. Between replacement smartphones and new sales, analysts believe that the smartphone market will be greater than 1 billion units by 2015. If Apple was to get an $8 per phone license payment from every Android manufacturer and Android phones were to pick up about half of the smartphone market, Apple would make $4 billion -- pure profit, of course, since there are no material or overhead costs associated with these payments. Manness notes that this ends up being about $4 in earnings added per share of AAPL and says that "even at Apple's current depressed P/E of 12.5 (roughly), this alone would add over $50 to the stock price." The only fly in the ointment for Apple investors is that so far, HTC is the only Android manufacturer that has agreed to a licensing deal. Samsung's mobile division CEO has publicly stated that the company has no intention of signing any such deal with Apple.
Microsoft files patent for device that enforces licenses through visual surveillance
Microsoft has filed a patent for a system that could potentially use a camera to determine whether you're breaking its content-viewing rules or not. US Patent Application 20120278904 describes the ability to use a Kinect-like camera-enabled device for "continuously monitoring a number of users at a display device during the performance of [some] content," which basically means the camera would watch the faces of anyone watching a display showing licensed content (like a movie or a game), and then track those faces to see if the viewers had appropriately licensed it. The patent lists a number of options for determining the validity of the possible viewers, including counting their number (as in, making sure only three people were able to see a movie), or actually identifying specific users (to make sure Julie isn't watching a movie that Mark was only licensed to see). The patent itself doesn't specifically mention Kinect, but it does mention the idea of a "gaming and media system" as well as "mobile devices" with the same capability. Obviously, such a system would have some weaknesses (could you use a picture or a sculpture to spoof the camera?), and the patent states at the end that this is just one possible implementation of a setup like this. But Microsoft is apparently thinking about using Kinect's ability to recognize you for more than just throwing around spells and playing games. In the future, that camera may be used to figure out whether you're following the rules or not.
Apple agrees to license for Swiss railway clock in iOS 6, knows what time it is
When Swiss federal railway organization SBB and the Mondaine Group pointed out that the iOS 6 clock face looked remarkably like theirs, they weren't so much upset as clearing their throat politely -- it would be nice to get credit, if you don't mind. That kindness has been met with some reciprocity, as SBB has confirmed a licensing deal with Apple that gives the iPad builder rights to use the iconic timepiece in its mobile OS. Exact terms aren't forthcoming, although it's likely not a princely sum when SBB is better known for punctuality than wheeling and dealing. All we know is that Apple can at last live with a good conscience when it checks the time in Geneva.
Doodle Jump getting an Arcade version, plushies via licensing deal
Doodle Jump has been moving along at a much slower pace than Rovio's Angry Birds lately, but of course it's one of the other early success stories from the App Store. Developers Lima Sky have updated the game almost constantly since its launch (including just recently to make it compatible with the iPhone 5), and as a result, it's a hugely played and downloaded game. Lima Sky has now turned that success into a major licensing deal with a company called Innovation First International. Thanks to this new deal, you can expect to see all sorts of Doodle Jump merch available soon, from plushies and collectibles to robotic toys and other merchandise offerings on the brand. In addition to those toys, Lima Sky has also teamed up with a company called Innovative Concepts in Entertainment and a game developer named Raw Thrills to create Doodle Jump Arcade. That's an HD version of the game, played in arcades on a 42-inch HD monitor (similar to Fruit Ninja's arcade version, as well as the Infinity Blade arcade spinoff that appeared recently). That sounds fun! The Doodle Jump arcade game should be in Dave and Buster's and other similar places soon, and I'm guessing we won't have to look too far for that merch when it's finally ready. Update: @wildcowboy on Twitter notes that Doodle Jump Arcade is already out and about in the wild. So if you want your Doodle Jump fix on the bigger screen, there's no need to wait!
Lodsys: 150 iOS developers give in to patent demands
Lodsys filed what many are calling a "patent troll" lawsuit against a number of smaller iOS developers last year, claiming that while Apple may have licensed its in-app purchase technology patents for iOS, individual developers have not, and should be held accountable for using it. Despite the fact that this seems patently absurd (pun intended), Lodsys claims that over 150 developers have licensed the technology for themselves, with the majority of them actually doing so "outside of the litigation process." The exact charges of licensing the tech aren't known, but it's rumored to be around 2.5 percent of whatever revenues are earned with in-app purchases. In other words, over 150 of the targeted developers have decided to pay licensing fees to Lodsys, rather than face the threats of legal action or further fines. Lodsys originally offered $1,000 to any developers it said had been wrongly targeted by the lawsuit, but of course that would be after costly court action due to the legal challenges. It's possible that these developers simply decided it wasn't worth the trouble fighting for their cause. Apple promised to assist these developers in court, and tried to make the case that its own licensing payment covers third-party developers. But Lodsys says separately that the issue is still "unresolved and clearly contested." Lodsys seems dedicated to going after smaller developers who lack the huge legal or monetary resources that Apple itself can use, and thus can be more easily threatened into paying out licensing fees rather than face an expensive court battle. [via GigaOm]
Via Licensing assembles an LTE supergroup to share standards-essential patents
Dolby spinoff Via Licensing has shone a signal into the night sky and assembled some of the world's biggest telecoms players to form a patent supergroup. AT&T, NTT DoCoMo and Telefonica are some of the names that'll pool their standards-essential LTE patents to prevent getting embroiled in litigation over FRAND licensing. While there are some notable holdouts to the team, we suggest company president Roger Ross coax them over by hiring Michael McCuistion to write them a rockin' theme song.
US Appeals court rules Motorola can't enforce injunction against Microsoft in Germany... again
In another face of the ever turning world of patent battles, Reuters reports Microsoft has snagged a victory over Motorola as the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in its favor today. Motorola had obtained an injunction in Germany against Microsoft products -- including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 -- based on its h.264 patents back in May, but today the court upheld a previous decision putting enforcement on hold because of Microsoft's existing lawsuit against Moto for breach of contract. Microsoft's push to leverage its patents into licensing payouts from manufacturers of Android devices have seen the two at each other's throats since at least 2010, when the folks from Redmond lodged an ITC complaint over nine patents and followed up with another suit accusing Motorola of charging unfair license fees for its patents. Motorola fired back with its own pair of lawsuits -- all of this a year before we heard it would be acquired by Google -- and the battle was on. Whether or not this moves us any closer to any resolution remains to be seen, but at least Bavarian gaming consoles are safe, for now.
