CNM Short Takes

Heritage Committee brings back copyright reform agendaThe Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has retabled its report on the copyright reform process that died with the ending of the last Parliamentary session. The committee had suggested an aggressive fall deadline for preparing legislation dealing with, among others, making changes to the Copyright Act to ratify Canada’s World Intellectual Property Organization obligations and create an extended licensing system for educational materials, and provide legal injunctions against tampering with technological protection measures. Both are controversial within and without Ottawa.The move by the committee forces the government to respond to the report. Mainframe sees better earningsMainframe Entertainment Inc. on November 10 reported that it earned $400,000 on revenue of $5 million for its second quarter. That compared favourably to a net loss of $2 million on revenue of $2.4 million in the same period a year earlier. For the six-month period ending September 30, the company reported net earnings of $600,000 on revenue of $9.2 million, an improvement from a net loss of $3 million on revenues of $8.5 million a year earlier. The company has also announced that it and Mattel Inc. have signed an agreement for the creation of a new CGI animated feature-length production for the Max Steel property. Macromedia touts role in CBC Emmy nominationMacromedia says that its software development work for CBC’s ZeD has led to an Emmy award nomination for outstanding achievement in advanced media technology. The nod is for the enhanced "Uncut" episode of ZeD. CBC used Macromedia Flash and Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX products to allow viewers to participate in the live broadcast, including with interactive video and audio feeds from members of the general public. Some of the development work was done by New Toronto Group. "As a creative executive working on various platforms, it’s somewhat rare to see your vision delivered without dilution to a mass medium like live interactive television. Working with New Toronto Group, Macromedia and my staff, however, proved that smart technology and smart people can deliver great things - in just four weeks!" said ZeD executive producer McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves in a news release. Lawyer launches languages complaintCopyright lawyer Howard Knopf has lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Official Languages after being prevented from presenting material to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage earlier this year. Knopf was prevented last spring from filing with the committee documents relating to its hearings on copyright reform because the material was not translated into French. Knopf is seeking an apology from the committee and its then-chair Sarmite Bulte. In his complaint, Knopf writes: "The Canadian Heritage committee is known for its practice of making illegal demands as to submission of bilingual material, and this practice clearly serves to discriminate against individuals and associations that cannot afford to obtain translations of any material, much less material that is of a highly complex, technical and legal nature. It is no answer to say that the material will be translated at the taxpayers’ expense and provided to committee members. I have a right to ask the members to read my material in the language of my choice. I would rather that it not be read by one or more members than it be inadequately or inaccurately translated." He concludes his complaint by noting that he hopes the commissioner’s office will deal with it in time for the "expected level of activity of this committee in respect of copyright revision over the next year." Knopf further notes that the committee, in this session, has taken steps to entrench its tradition of not accepting material unless it has been translated into both French and English. Microcell launches tune recognition serviceMicrocell Solutions Inc.’s Fido subscribers have been offered a new music recognition service that identifies music tracks. Customers can hold their phone up to a music source for about 30 seconds and receive a text message naming the tune. The service is being offered through Musicphone Inc. in partnership with Shazam Entertainment Ltd. The company claims approximately 2 million tunes are stored in its database. Manitoba Telecom launches MTS Centre ITV applicationManitoba Telecom’s MTS TV service has introduced an interactive TV application called MTS Centre on Demand, which provides its TV customers with information about Winnipeg’s new MTS Centre, including dates and descriptions about upcoming events, ticket availability, information about the facility and statistics for the Manitoba Moose hockey team. The application was constructed by ExtendMedia, and content is being supplied by True North Sports and Entertainment. MTS plans to roll out a number of other ITV services, including video-on-demand (VOD), and later this month Games on Demand. The games will consist of a variety of card and puzzle games, and the application will include a picture-in-game feature that allows customers to keep track of what is on TV while they play the games. MTS plans to have MTS TV Games on Demand on free preview for a month. Rogers Wireless launches video messaging serviceRogers Wireless is now offering a video messaging service to allow customers to capture, share and save video clips up to 20 seconds long. The service uses video-enabled handsets to capture the video, which is then distributed on the company’s GSM/GPRS network and viewed on other video-enabled handsets or at a web site for customers without that capapbility. The service is now on a three-month trial from the time customers send their first video or picture message, and then will be billed at $0.25 per recipient per message sent to other Rogers Wireless subscribers for customers on a navigate payment plan. For non-plan customers, the rate is $0.50 per message recipient. Video clips can be downloaded for $2 each, plus $0.50 for the download itself (see story in this issue about QuickPlay for further details about the clips offering). CTAM session to feature panel on digital television trendsCable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Canada is hosting a panel discussion, titled The Digital Pattern: Trends in Consumer Viewing Habits, on November 17 in Toronto, beginning at 3 p.m. The session moderated by Michael Lee, VP of strategy and development at Rogers Cable, will include participation by panelist Mario Mota, VP of broadcast/media research at Decima Research Inc. Software Human Resources Council launches new siteThe Software Human Resources Council (SHRC) has launched a new web site, DiscoverIT.org. The site is designed to attract young people into careers in information technology. The initiative was started as statistics indicate that there is the potential to fill 60,000 career jobs in IT last year, but there were only 4,500 new graduates with skills to fill those positions. By 2011, according to Statistics Canada, 44% of the population will be over 45 and youth will have decreased to 13.2% of the population, creating a need for flexible workers able to learn new skills. Canadian online advertising base growing: IAB CanadaThe Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) says online advertising revenue in this country is expected to reach nearly $300 million this year, a 68% increase over two years. The top 40 companies selling advertising were surveyed to arrive at the estimate. Projections indicate a year-end total of $295 million, up 24.5% from last year. Paula Gignac, executive director of IAB Canada, notes in a news release: "Revenue numbers have grown as marketers have become more familiar with the medium, but also as research (including the IAB’s Canadian Media Optimization Studies (CMOST)), has shown the benefits of re-distributing ad dollars within campaigns to include online. Recent CMOST studies conducted by the IAB Canada for Molson, GM and RBC Insurance have demonstrated that online advertising is capable of generating significant improvements in brand metrics, identifying and influencing key decision makers at important points in product purchase cycles, and significantly lifting product awareness even after other media has reached a plateau." Nomination period for history producers’ board extended The deadline for nominating people to the World Congress of History Producers board of directors has been extended to Friday, November 19 from November 12. The deadline was granted after several delegates to the event held in Toronto at the end of October requested more time to submit nominees and confirm with people that they would be interested in joining the board. The board of directors will provide Achilles Media with guidance in organizing future World Congress of History Producers conferences.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | November 16, 2004

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