Thames Tech Wire

U.K. Courts Rule File-Sharing is Illegal, Impose Stiff Fines

London -- A landmark duo of court rulings in the U.K. has for the
first time found music file-swappers guilty of copyright infringement
and ordered defendants to pay damages to the U.K. music
industry. In the first case, the U.K. High Court granted summary
judgment against a man from King's Lynn accused of file-sharing
copyright infringement, ordering him to pay nearly £5,000 to the
British Phonographic Institute (BPI). The man must also pay legal
fees totalling nearly £13,500 and as yet unspecified damages.
Another man from Brighton was also found guilty by summary
judgment and ordered to pay £1,500 immediately to the BPI, with
additional damages likely to follow.
http://www.bpi.co.uk

Irish High Court: ISPs Must Identify Music File-Swappers

Dublin -- The High Court of Ireland has ruled that Internet service
providers (ISPs) must turn over the identities of subscribers
alleged to have used file-sharing networks to commit copyright
infringement, according to a report from Digital Rights Ireland, a
digital civil liberties group. The Irish divisions of the major record
labels monitored file-sharing networks using a programme called
MediaSentry and obtained the IP addresses of suspected file-
swappers. They then asked the individuals' ISPs -- Eircom, BT
Communications Ireland and Irish Broadband -- to reveal the
identities of these subscribers. Justice Peter Kelly called file-
sharing "a modern form of thieving", ordered the ISPs to give
subscribers' identities to the record labels and suggested the
labels pass on that information to criminal prosecution authorities.
http://www.digitalrights.ie

Reports: Source Code May Not be Enough for Microsoft

Brussels -- According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the
European Commission has told Microsoft that simply offering its
source code may not be enough to avoid further antitrust action.
The U.S.-based software giant caught the Commission by surprise
last week when it unexpectedly announced that it planned to reveal
its source code. However, Neil Barrett, the technical advisor
appointed by both Microsoft and the Commission, thinks the
protocols are confusing and therefore essentially useless. Another
report by the Financial Times claims the Commission may force
Microsoft to "provide sensitive information about its Windows
operating system to rivals, largely free of charge". Microsoft faces
the prospect of paying €2 million a day in fines if it fails to comply
fully with the Commission's terms.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/94d46bce-90ef-11da-a628-0000779e2340.html

smartfundit.com Launches Software Financing Marketplace

London -- U.K.-based smartfundit.com claims that it has launched
the world's first independent software financing marketplace. The
company said the marketplace would allow software companies to
exchange ideas, find services partners and make the transition to
subscription licensing, as well as bring together top banks that
want to finance software. "What's particularly special about
smartfundit.com is that it is an open market, it isn't just offering a
single source of finance," said Bloor Research analyst Tony Lock.
"It is a single, independent, central point of focus for both software
houses and financial services providers, making it very simple for
the two parties to get together."
http://www.smartfundit.com/

Smart Holograms Expands Management Team

Cambridge, England -- Smart Holograms, a Cambridge-based
sensor-hologram start-up, announced that it is has expanded its
management team. The company has exclusive rights to a new
sensor-hologram technology invented at Cambridge University.
Smart Telecom said it has created two new director positions and
appointed a new financial controller. Chris Culshaw has been
made director of IT and Quality Management Systems, while Julie
Lakin has been promoted to director of Human Resources and
Office Systems. Kevin Thomas has been appointed Financial
Controller.
http://www.smartholograms.com/site/sections/news/06_01_24.htm

Rambus Appoints Udo Muerle to European Office

London -- Rambus, a U.S.-based chip-technology firm, announced
that it has appointed Udo Muerle as director of business
development for its new European office. Muerle will assume
responsibility for the overall management of the company's
customer and partnership relationships in Europe, Rambus said.
Prior to joining Rambus, Muerle worked for Synopsys as executive
account manager and TransEDA as chief executive officer. He has
also worked for Virage Logic, Texas Instruments and IBM.
http://www.rambus.com/index.aspx

Germany's GFT Buys Parity Subsidiaries for £5.3 Million

London -- Parity Group Plc, a U.K.-based IT staffing and services
provider, announced that it has agreed to offload its subsidiaries in
Germany and France to GFT Technologies AG, a Germany-based
IT services vendor, for approximately £5.3 million (€7.7 million) in
cash. Under the terms of the deal, GFT will acquire Parity Europe,
which consists of Parity's German business, Parity
Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH, and its subsidiaries, as well as
Parity's French operation, Parity Eurosoft SARL. GFT said it
expected to close the deal by month's end. Parity's remaining
operations on the Continent are now in Belgium, the Netherlands
and Switzerland, although the company said these, too, will likely
be sold.
http://www.gft.com

Oxford, Harvard Researchers Launch Anti-Spyware Group

Oxford, England -- Researchers at the universities of Oxford and
Harvard have teamed up to launch a new project that names and
shames suppliers of spyware and other malicious software
programmes. Organisers said the project would try to enlist the
help of Internet users to identify companies that dupe surfers into
putting spyware, adware or other deceptive software on their PCs.
They also said the project would eventually produce tools that help
clean up infested computers. Dubbed the Stop Badware Coalition,
the project enjoys the support of such heavy hitters as Google,
Sun Microsystems and Lenovo.
http://stopbadware.org/

Informatica Acquires Ireland's Similarity for £31 Million

Dublin -- Informatica Corp., a U.S.-based data-integration software
provider, announced that it has acquired privately held Similarity
Systems, an Ireland-based data-quality software firm, for
approximately £31 million (€45 million) in cash. Industry analysts
estimate that the global market for information-quality services will
grow by 12% annually to more than €1 billion by 2008, a fact that
underscores the "growing importance of data quality to such
business imperatives as regulatory compliance", Informatica said.
Under the terms of the deal, Similarity CEO Garry Moroney will
manage Informatica's new data-quality division.
http://www.informatica.com

Quester Invests £2.4 Million in Software Firm ClusterSeven

London -- ClusterSeven Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of spreadsheet
management software, announced that it has raised £2.4 million in
first-round venture-capital funding. Quester, a U.K.-based
technology venture-capital firm, led the round. ClusterSeven said
the funds would be invested in product development and
expansion in the U.S. "In the current regulatory environment, the
control of spreadsheets is paramount, and we believe there is a
very substantial global market for ClusterSeven's products," said
Quester Director Henry Sallit. "The company has built an
impressive client base, principally in the U.K., and is poised for
international expansion."
http://www.quester.co.uk/default.asp?section=141&subpage=2016