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Distribution360 has sold three properties to UK-based CSC Media Group at the Banff World Media Festival. CSC owns and operates several television channels in the UK: Tiny Pop (geared to kids 4-6) will air This is Daniel Cook and This is Emily Yeung, and Kix (geared to boys 7-12) will air Ambition Skatecamp.

Tiny Pop is a popular channel for kids 4-6 years old, which features a fun mix of educational, entertaining, and inspiring programming. Starting later this summer, the channel will broadcast:

• This is Daniel Cook (65 x 6′ Episodes): An educational adventure where children join six-year-old host Daniel Cook on all of his exciting adventures, whether he is learning with Olympic gold medalists and zookeepers, or creating with award-winning musicians. Preschoolers learn, create and explore with Daniel, a preschooler himself, who shares their interests and curiosity.
• This is Emily Yeung (65 x 6′ Episodes): Sunny six-year-old Emily Yeung is host to a whole universe of discovery and adventures that capture the imagination of preschoolers. Children tag along with Emily as she explores, learns and creates with everyone from painters and musicians, to politicians and rocket scientists.

Kix is the UK’s only channel devoted to boys 7-12 years old. It features a mix of gross-out comedy, action-packed animation, and high energy sports programming. Starting later this summer, the channel will broadcast:

• Ambition Skatecamp (8 x 30′ Episodes): Eight talented young skateboarders go head-to-head for an intense week of skateboarding competitions. The contestants compete for a profile in SBC Skateboard Magazine and a chance to participate in the Maloof Money Cup worth $450,000 in prize money.

“We’re very pleased to be bringing these great kids and youth properties to audiences in the UK,” says Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier, Managing Director/Head of Sales, Distribution360. “The CSC Media Group boasts an exceptional variety of programming on its channels,” continues Röckmann-Portier.  “Daniel Cook, Emily Yeung, and Ambition Skatecamp will be great additions to the company’s lineup.”

Sonomax® Technologies, Inc. has announced that their award winning sculpted eers™ custom earphones will be available to Canadian retail customers this week. The highly acclaimed custom molded earphones will be premiered on Wednesday, June 15^th at Boutique Tone in Montreal, at HearAtLast in Ottawa (Orleans) on Thursday, June 16^th and on Friday, June 17^th at HearAtLast in West Edmonton. The Ottawa (Orleans) HearAtLast is located at 3900 Innes Road and the West Edmonton HearAtLast is at 18521 Stony Plain Rd. N.W.

Sculpted eers, the revolutionary custom earphones which can also be pre-ordered at the sculpted eers website for delivery in August, are molded to the unique shape of an individual’s ear canal in just four minutes. They provide maximum comfort, exceptional sound, and a secure fit even during vigorous activity. Additionally, the acoustic seal delivers a total audio immersion experience so consumers can safely enjoy the highest quality music at a fraction of the volume required by generic earphones.

“I’m thrilled to offer sculpted eers custom earphones to my customers, ” said Boutique Tone Owner and CEO Jeremy Stern. “They’re amazing. I’m always looking for the newest and coolest products on the planet and that’s exactly what sculpted eers are. I saw how people reacted to them at the NAMM Show earlier this year and now that I’ve been using them, I’m even more of a believer. My customers are going to love them.”

Nick Laperle, Sonomax Technologies’ President and CEO will attend the official product launch, which will be from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. on June 15^th at Boutique Tone, 4292 Saint-Laurent in Montreal. “Boutique Tone is Montreal’s premier specialty music store for guitar and bass players. They are perfect partners for sculpted eers custom molded earphones,” Laperle said. “I’m delighted that I’ll be on hand for the launch and am looking forward to personally introducing sculpted eers to Boutique Tone’s customers.”

Laperle will also be present for the sculpted eers launch at two HearAtLast locations. The Ottawa (Orleans) sculpted eers launch is set for Thursday, June 16^th and on Friday, June 17^th the West Edmonton HearAtLast store will introduce the sculpted eers product. Launch time will be from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at both locations. HearAtLast, a store-within-a-store at various Walmart locations throughout Canada, sells state-of-the-art hearing aids, earphones and other assistive hearing devices. Read the rest of this entry »

01 Communique Laboratory Inc. and Wi-LAN Inc. have entered into an agreement that will see WiLAN assist 01 Communique in the licensing of 01 Communique’s patents related to remote access technology for a number of specified licensees.

“Having signed technology license agreements with hundreds of companies, including Broadcom, Intel, LG, Motorola and Samsung, worth many hundreds of millions of dollars, WiLAN has demonstrated superior licensing capabilities,” said Andrew Cheung, President and CEO, 01 Communique.  “WiLAN’s proven track record and its strong financial position makes WiLAN an ideal choice to help maximize the revenue that we anticipate can be generated from our patented technology.  We are very pleased with the opportunity to work with WiLAN.

Added Cheung, “We have a complete suite of products in the remote access marketplace that have been built using our patented technology and we believe there are companies that are using this patented technology to compete against us.”

“WiLAN has been aware of the 01 Communique patents for some time and believes these are extremely important patents,” said Jim Skippen, Chairman & CEO, WiLAN.  “This partnership  is very significant to WiLAN and we are confident that we will be able to develop a licensing program that will benefit both 01 Communique and WiLAN.  This is especially exciting for WiLAN since it will bring us into new markets.”

Under the terms of the agreement, WiLAN’s subsidiary Gladios IP will have day-to-day responsibility for developing programs aimed at licensing 01 Communique’s patents.

The emergence of digital markets can help Canada’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sell internationally by increasing access to foreign customers and improving the quality, speed, and cost-effectiveness of transactions.

Despite the potential benefits, Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are hesitant to sell online because they lack the knowledge of how to do so effectively, according to a Conference Board of Canada report, Building International Sales in a Digitized Economy: Best Practices for SMEs. The report identifies three main factors that contribute to success in international digital markets: a favourable online reputation, strong online technological capabilities, and an engaged online brand community.

“Most Canadian small and medium-sized businesses use the internet, but online selling is not yet widespread,” said Rebecca Reuber, co-author and Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. “Many small and medium-sized businesses do not know how to reach foreign customers online or how to adapt their business model to take advantage of digital markets.”

“Although greater internationalization provides growth opportunities, doing business in foreign markets can be difficult and costly for resource-constrained SMEs, and most of them operate solely in the domestic market,” said Eileen Fischer, co-author and Max and Anne Tanenbaum Chair of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise. “One particular hurdle for some firms is the investment that’s required in technology to sell effectively online. ”

A Statistics Canada survey reported in 2008 that only 36 per cent of Canadian private sector organizations believed doing business over the Internet would allow them to reach new customers. And a 2010 Statistics Canada study found that only seven per cent of small enterprises and 13 per cent of medium size enterprises were selling online in 2007, about the same percentage reported in 2001.

The Conference Board report shows that the competitive context for SMEs in international digital markets differs from that in traditional markets. Online buyers are more apt to imitate the purchasing behavior of other customers, technological capabilities increase in importance, and online buyers are interested in participating in online communities. As a result, three main factors that affect company success are:

• A favourable online reputation – elements include visibility, trustworthiness, and signals of high product or service quality.
• Strong online technological capabilities – the CEO and other top managers must champion technological development, rather than delegating responsibility.
• Engaged online brand communities – buyers increasingly want to become involved with firms, so companies should invest resources in monitoring a range of social media and interacting with customers.

The research also identifies three major challenges. First, SME owners need to be cautious about relying exclusively on online contact with customers. Second, entering foreign markets haphazardly – or as market pioneers – can lead to costly mistakes that could be avoided with a deliberate and coherent strategy. Third, SME owners need to think about how “Canadian” they want their image or brand to be, as there can be advantages in making borders as invisible as possible.

The report concludes on a series of eight policy-related implications, including:

• foster offline interactions between buyers and sellers;
• focus on foreign markets with high growth potential instead of simply responding to unsolicited online requests;
• ensure access to high capacity Internet and wireless networks;
• ensure banks and government agencies are able to assess intangible resources, such as a firm’s reputation and online community;
• provide more recent data about the international activities of Canadian SME in digital markets;

This report is publicly available at www.e-library.ca and was produced by the International Trade and Investment Centre for the Conference Board’s CanCompete program. CanCompete is a three-year program of research and dialogue is designed to help leading decision makers advance Canada on a path of national competitiveness. The International Trade and Investment Centre also published Canada’s Trade in a Digital World in April 2011.

With the launch of new clear and simple international travel pricing, Canadians can travel abroad this summer knowing they automatically enjoy Telus’ most affordable roaming rates in more than 200 countries. With the launch of Telus’ new clear and simple international travel pricing, all customers get the same low roaming rates when they’re traveling. Separate bundles and passes are no longer required to take advantage of the lowest rate, making it easy and hassle-free for customers to use Telus wireless services when overseas.

“After the launch of our new HSPA+ wireless network in late 2009, Telus was able to offer our customers a true international roaming capability for the first time, ending Rogers’ monopoly in international roaming for Canadians. We quickly started working with carriers around the world to negotiate reduced roaming rates for our customers and we now want to make it as simple and affordable as possible for our customers to use their smartphones wherever they go, without coming home to a surprise on their bill,” said David Fuller, Telus Chief Marketing Officer. “We understand what our customers want and we’ve been working hard over the last few years to give them exactly what they are asking for – clear and simple rate plans without system access and 911 carrier fees, a device unlocking service, a free SMS data notification service so they know how much data they have used, and easier access to affordable long distance rates through our recently-announced Skype partnership. Today, we are adding clear, simple and affordable international roaming rates for all of our customers.”

The combination of Telus’ device unlocking service, which allows Telus customers to use local SIM cards overseas; the easy experience of using Skype for affordable long distance calling; and now greatly reduced international roaming rates add up to great news for Canadians planning to travel overseas this summer. Telus’ new clear and simple international roaming rates will be available to all Telus customers – business and consumer – in over 200 countries, starting June 27:

ChinaJoy is the hallmark gaming industry show in mainland China. It is the best attended show with all the major market players exhibiting, speaking and networking at exhibition halls, business conferences and dinner receptions. Every year the show is visited by over 100,000 visitors (over 140,000 in 2010 event). In 2010, 17,105 professional visitors walked in the show.

There will be a Canada Pavilion at the Business-to-Business (B2B) Section of ChinaJoy 2011 co-organised by the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai, the Alberta Beijing Office, the British-Columbia International Trade & Investment Representative Office East China, the Ontario Shanghai Office, and the Québec Government Representative Office in Shanghai.

Canadian game companies are welcome to join the pavilion either by presence at the booth to meet with visitors or to do a catalogue show. There is no cost to join the pavilion however the companies are responsible for their travel expenses.

Apart from the show, ChinaJoy also includes three major conferences: China Game Business Conference (CGBC), China Game Outsourcing Conference (CGOC), and China Game Developers Conference (CGDC). Interested companies can register online at ChinaJoy’s official website.

For detailed information on ChinaJoy 2011 and the Canada Pavilion, please contact Sandra Jiang from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

Distribution360 has announced that it will be representing the worldwide, non-linear rights to the hit MTV series Undressed, on behalf of the show’s producer, at the 2011 Banff World Media Festival. Distribution360 will be looking for a home on VOD, home video, online, and mobile platforms for the 222-episode, award-winning property.

Created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé, Undressed is an anthology series that follows the sexual and romantic relationships of young people in the Los Angeles area, featuring such notable personalities as Adam Brody, Katee Sackhoff, Brandon Routh, Jason Ritter and Chad Michael Murray. The show is known for its frank discussions on sex, promiscuous behaviour, and gay and lesbian relationships. Undressed ran for six seasons on MTV, and at its peak, aired to well over 10 million viewers per week; the show is also the recipient of a GLADD Media Award.

“We’re very excited to be showcasing this edgy and intriguing property in Banff this year,” says Stéphanie Röckmann-Portier, Head of Sales, Distribution360. “Non-linear platforms are becoming increasingly popular within the ever-evolving media landscape, and we’re thrilled to be presenting Undressed to these mediums.”

Telefilm Canada is proud to support the 2011 Banff World Media Festival and nextMEDIA Banff, which run from June 12 to 15, 2011. Telefilm’s support focuses on two initiatives: the Banff World Media Festival’s International Co-Production Market at Banff and nextMEDIA’s Digital Business Market.

“These activities are directly aligned with our mission to stimulate demand for Canadian content through a variety of platforms, and provides us with an ideal opportunity to forge ties with international partners and to dialogue with experts,” said Sheila de La Varende, Telefilm Canada’s Director of National and International Business Development.

The International Co-Production Market at Banff (June 13 to 15, 2011) is designed to foster international opportunities for Canadian companies. With a dual focus on learning and connecting, the program aims to educate participants on opportunities in the international marketplace, facilitate one-on-one meetings and highlight successful projects.

The Digital Business Market (June 14 and 15, 2011) offers an ideal opportunity for professional development and networking. This initiative favours business opportunities within the industry and enables participants to meet one another in the aim of forging business ties.

The Banff World Media Festival is a major annual event focused on content creation and a forum where television and new-media professionals have an opportunity to explore new business and creative possibilities. nextMEDIA, one of a series of major conferences on digital media in Canada, brings together professionals involved in all areas of digital-media activity and enables them to network as well as obtain information about the creation, distribution and monetization of multiplatform content and about mobile applications.

and Skype today announced that they have signed an agreement that will revolutionize how Telus smartphone customers use Skype, including the ability to purchase Skype Credit through their existing Telus accounts, making it more secure and convenient for them to stay connected with loved ones both in Canada and abroad while taking advantage of Skype’s low-cost calling rates. In addition, Telus will launch the Skype edition LG Optimus Black, the first Skype edition smartphone in the Canadian market.

“We believe that by developing a deep relationship with leading global communications brands that our customers already know and enjoy, such as Skype, Telus can provide a superior customer experience that leverages the best of what those brands have to offer and empowers our customers to choose the services they want and need,” said David Fuller, chief marketing officer at Telus. “By bringing Canadians their choice of the best communication technologies we offer our customers the freedom to customize their mobile experience with the services they want, when and how they want. And when you experience these services on Canada’s fastest* coast-to-coast 4G network, it’s a perfect match.”

Through its partnership with Skype, Telus will continue to increase its participation in the rapidly growing smartphone application ecosystem by pairing its own unique value proposition with Skype’s well-known communications solutions. Telus customers using Skype will more easily and securely be able to take advantage of affordable international calling rates to both landlines and mobile phones through Skype Out calling, using Skype Credit. Only Telus customers have the ability to have Skype Credit charged directly to their wireless bill. Telus customers can also enjoy unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls and instant messaging to users around the globe. Read the rest of this entry »

The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC has ruled unanimously in favor of i4i in the long-running i4i v Microsoft patent infringement lawsuit. The Supreme Court did not accept Microsoft’s request to lower the standard of proof, for challenges to the validity of a properly issued patent, from clear and convincing evidence to a preponderance of evidence. As a result of this decision, i4i has won its patent infringement case against Microsoft. At trial the jury ruled in favor of i4i and awarded $200 million in damages (now upwards of $300 million with enhancements and interest). The Honorable Judge Leonard Davis entered judgment on the verdict and issued a permanent injunction against Microsoft.

Loudon Owen, Chairman of i4i, says, “Microsoft tried to gut the value of patents by introducing a lower standard for invalidating patents. It is now 100% clear that you can only invalidate a patent based on “clear and convincing” evidence.” Owen adds, “This is one of the most significant business cases the Court has decided in decades. Affirmation of the Federal Circuit on a ruling in favor of patent holders is virtually unprecedented. While this ruling maintains the prevailing standard, the innovation community must be ever-vigilant to defend its property rights.”

Michel Vulpe, founder of i4i and co-inventor, says, “This has been a 16 year journey with a clearly defined purpose – to build a world leader in managing data. It is an important stepping stone for i4i and we can now continue to build our company the way we intended.” Vulpe adds, “Our army was small but mighty and we are grateful to our team, partners, investors, legal counsel, those who filed amici briefs, and everyone supporting the rights of patent holders. Naturally, we are particularly appreciative of our shareholders who continue to support us.” i4i’s legal team includes WilmerHale, McKool Smith, Finnegan Henderson, and Sterne Kessler. Read the rest of this entry »