Sony Battles Infringement Suits – Orinda Intellectual Properties USA claims that Sony’s Blu-ray system infringes on its own patented technology concerning the recording and reproduction of information on optical discs. in addition to royalties, the company wants an injunction against the sales and distribution of Sony Blu-ray players. California-based Target Technology accused Sony of violating its reflective layer materials patent back in May. And LED expert Prof. Gertrude N. Rothschild accused Sony of infringing one of her patents in March.
JVC Gets DivX Certification for HT System – JVC’s NX-BD3 Blu-ray home theater system, to be launched in Europe this month, is the first HT system to received DivX Certification. It will allow consumers to play back content over wired or wireless home networks, bringing libraries of video stored on PCs to the living room, so that DivX videos can be burned to CDs or DVDs. [We don’t quite grasp the Blu-ray/DivX combination – isn’t that like bringing together IMAX and 8mm?…Ed.]
Portland Jazz Festival Canceled – After a five-year span of presenting exciting world-class jazz each February in Portland, Oregon, the festival has been forced to case operations due to a decline in funding and sponsorship support. Qwest was the main supporter, and new sponsors could not be found. The 2009 Festival had been announced to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Blue Note Records, with some of the great Blue Note artists appearing together in Portland. Jazz Education & Outreach programs were also a vital part of the Jazz Festival, with dozens of performances by student musicians and free master classes from some of the top jazz artists of the day. Two years ago PDX Jazz was formed to continue the presentation of live jazz during the rest of the year. They presented Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau, and Return to Forever, and made the Portland Jazz Orchestra the resident ensemble of the festival. (The orchestra will continue with its 2008 concert schedule.)
