Barry Willis

What's in a name? At the very least, lots of very expensive litigation for independent film-distribution site <A HREF="http://www.reeluninverse.com/">ReelUniverse.com</A>, which recently received a cease-and-desist demand from attorneys representing movie retailer <A HREF="http://www.reel.com/">Reel.com</A>, a subsidiary of Hollywood Entertainment Corporation, parent of <A HREF="http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/">Hollywood Video</A>, the second-largest video rental-and-retail chain in the US.

A federal court in Denver hosted a DBS David vs. Goliath scene the first week of February, when <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar Communications Corporation</A> filed an antitrust suit against its rival <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A> and Thomson Consumer Electronics, charging them with conspiring to keep EchoStar's products out of electronics stores.

The Internet's video parallel to the controversial MP3 free-music phenomenon&mdash;currently being contested in US courts&mdash;quickly reached crisis proportions last week. A judge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ruled against <A HREF="http://www.icravetv.com/">iCraveTV.com</A>, a Canadian startup that late last year began retransmitting Canadian and American TV programming over the Internet without permission. On January 28, the judge found in favor of a coalition of plaintiffs, including three of the four major television networks, several movie studios, the <A HREF="http://www.nba.com/">National Basketball Association</A>, and the <A HREF="http://www.nfl.com/">National Football League</A>. At the moment, iCraveTV's site has a notice informing visitors that "access to stations and program listings is not available."

The old <I>Mission: Impossible</I> TV series always opened with the head of the spy team picking up his instructions on a miniature tape recorder stashed in an obscure place. An authoritative voice would give Mr. Phelps his instructions&mdash;always with the option of declining the assignment&mdash;and then announce that the tape would self-destruct, which it did with a burst of flame and a puff of smoke.