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ECJ to examine whether ACTA conflicts with fundamental rights in the European Union.

European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, announced on Wednesday that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The European Commission has already passed ACTA and the European Council adopted ACTA unanimously in December. The trade agreement has also been passed to the European Parliament for a debate and vote to be held later. However, the trade commissioner is looking to the ECJ to independently clarify the legality of this agreement.

The court will assess whether ACTA is incompatible with the EU's fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and information or data protection and the right to property in case of intellectual property.

The ratification process for ACTA has sparked debate in EU nations about the freedom of the Internet, and the importance of protecting Europe's Intellectual Property for member states' economies.

"I share people's concern for these fundamental freedoms. I welcome that people have voiced their concerns so actively ? especially over the freedom of the internet. And I also understand that there is uncertainty on what ACTA will really mean for these key issues at the end of the day.

Microsoft calls on Google to refrain from killing video on the web.

Microsoft has announced the filing of a complaint with the European Commission over Motorola Mobility's royalty demands, relating to H.264 video. It said that Motorola Mobility is trying to block the sale of Windows PCs and laptops, as well as the firm's Xbox 360 console because they, "enable people to view videos on the Web and to connect wirelessly to the Internet using industry standards."

At the core of its complaint, Microsoft accuses Motorola Mobility of breaking promises made to other firms in the industry when it comes to patents essential to common technical standards. These standards are developed by the industry for a very important reason, so that the greatest amount of interoperability and compatibility can be achieved between products developed by different firms.

Microsoft says that the industry came together years ago to define common technical standards that every firm can use to build compatible products for video and Wi-Fi, and that each firm involved (including Motorola) committed to making patents essential to the standards available on fair and reasonable terms.

"Ubuntu is the killer app for multi-core phones in 2012."

That's according to Canonical Ltd., the commercial entity backing Ubuntu linux and related products. Ubuntu for Android brings the free Desktop experience to multi-core Android smartphones which are docked with a keyboard and monitor, essentially turning the phone into a PC on demand.

According to Canonical, the phone experience is pure Android; it's a normal Android phone. When the device is connected to a computer screen, however, it launches a full Ubuntu desktop on the computer display, the same Desktop experience used by millions of home and business users on their Ubuntu PCs.

Android applications such as contacts, telephony and SMS/MMS messaging are accessible from the Ubuntu interface, as all data and services are shared between the Ubuntu and Android environments, which run simultaneously on the device.

"The desktop is the killer-app for quad-core phones in 2012" said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical. "Ubuntu for Android transforms your high-end phone into your productive desktop, whenever you need it."

Canonical points out that today's IT departments often provide both a PC and a smartphone for every employee. Ubuntu for Android then presents an alternative solution, whereby IT departments can cut the burden per employee to just one smartphone.

China Telecom has announced today that it will begin offering the iPhone 4S in March.

The carrier has 130 million subscribers in China, many of which are Apple fans and purchasers of past generations of the popular smartphone.

Altogether, China Telecom has 200 million customers in mainland China including their mobile, land line and broadband customers. The carrier also claims to have the largest CDMA network in the world.

Apple's response (via 9to5): "The iPhone 4S has been an incredible hit with customers around the world. We're thrilled to be launching iPhone 4S with China Telecom and can. t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China."

All models of the device will be available and base models will be free with contract.

RIM has made the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software update available as a free download for all BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

The new, updated operating system brings many wanted features to the tablet, including a native email app, a sad but true fact. The integrated email client "has a powerful unified inbox," says the company: "With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 you have the option to use a unified inbox that consolidates all messages in one place, including messages from Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as personal and work email accounts."
More of the new features:

Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps: The built-in calendar harnesses information from social networks and makes it available where and when users need it. Contact cards are also dynamically populated with updated information from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create a consolidated view of contacts.

Updated BlackBerry Bridge app: BlackBerry Bridge is a unique app that provides a Bluetooth connection between your BlackBerry PlayBook and core apps on your BlackBerry smartphone (including BBM, Email, Contacts, Calendar and Browser) in order to let you view the content on the larger tablet display. With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, it's easier and quicker than ever to take documents, web pages, emails and photos that appear on your BlackBerry smartphone and display them on your BlackBerry PlayBook for an optimized viewing and editing experience. The updated BlackBerry Bridge app also provides a new remote control feature that allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a wireless keyboard and mouse for a BlackBerry PlayBook.

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the now defunct cyberlocker Megaupload, has been released on bail, after a judge surprisingly decreed he was no longer too much of a flight risk.

Following a raid last month, Dotcom was arrested in New Zealand and his assets seized including cars, cash and a mansion. Dotcom was denied bail twice, due to access to money and jets but the latest judge has granted the request, stating that the police have not proven he has any assets left to remain a high flight risk.

The U.S. is looking to extradite Dotcom and six others involved with Megaupload to stand trial over criminal copyright violations and racketeering charges.

Officials in the U.S. have until March 2nd to file the paperwork for extradition with the court. Dotcom has stated he would prefer to stand trial and fight the charges in New Zealand, where he was lived for some time.

Megaupload, at its peak, accounted for 2 percent of all Web traffic thanks to its 66 million users. The site is said to have brought Dotcom and others $150 million in advertising and subscription revenue.

As reported yesterday, Barnes & Noble has launched a smaller-capacity Nook Tablet today at $199, the same price as 7-inch tablet market leader the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Like the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet has a 7" display with a resolution of 1024x600. Also like the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet is powered by a 1GHz dual core processor, but the Barnes & Noble Nook tablet, in its original 16GB form, had more storage and more RAM at 1GB.

Barnes & Noble's new release will have 8GB storage and 512MB RAM, putting its hardware completely on par with the Kindle Fire.

"For any customer who likes to read digitally, watch movies or TV shows, browse the web, or help their kids read and learn through interactive books and apps, our new $199 NOOK Tablet with 8GB is the best product value on the market," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Office of Barnes & Noble. "NOOK Tablet is the highest-rated wireless media tablet in the 7-inch class, ultra-portable at under a pound, offers our exclusive VividView screen technology, and since its introduction this holiday has received rave reviews from customers about all its great features. We're pleased to now offer customers the ability to experience NOOK Tablet's unmatched content experience for only $199."

Comcast has launched "Xfinity Streampix," a subscription video service that will directly compete with market leader Netflix.

The service will offer movies and TV shows, including full back catalogs for some shows.

In order to launch the service, the cable operator has made deals with ABC, Disney, NBCU, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Cookie Jar. The company did note that the current ABC/Disney deal is only for TV shows, so fans of Disney movies will have to wait.

Comcast will include Streampix with all Xfinity triple-play packages or will cost $4.99 a month with other video packages.

"Our goal is to consistently deliver greater value to our customers and to bring the best anytime, anywhere entertainment on multiple platforms,"says Comcast senior vice president and general manager of video services Marcien Jenckes. "Streampix is another step moving 'TV Everywhere' forward by giving customers access to an even greater library of popular choices to watch."

A few of the offerings that Comcast noted were NBC's 30 Rock, Heroes and The Office; ABC's Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty; ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager; Sony's Married... with Children, Warner's Analyze That, Ocean's Eleven and When Harry Met Sally; Universal's Brokeback Mountain and The Big Lebowski; and Sony's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Stuart Little (via MCN)

Groupon has begun a VIP service that will give subscribers early access to deals, among other perks.

The daily deal giant is testing the service in a few markets like Tampa, Florida and as a special introductory rate the service is free for three months. After the period, the service will cost just $30 per year.

As a VIP member, you get (via Time):

- Early access to deals: VIP members can see (and buy) deals 12 hours before the non-VIP masses do.
- Access to a "Deal Vault": VIP members will be able to buy certain deals even after they're sold out, and after the normal purchase-by date has expired.
- Easy refunds: VIP members can trade in unused daily deals for Groupon Bucks (credits for other deals) at any time, even after the deal's use-by date has expired.

The Tian Jin Daily has reported on the leaked specs of the Motorola Atrix 3, which will have the largest battery seen on a consumer smartphone, to date.

If accurate, the device will have a 4.3-inch 720p display, run on a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, have 2GB RAM and the huge 3300mAh battery. The phone will also have a 4G LTE radio and all other standard features.

Notably, the phone will have a dual-LED flash 10MP camera, making it one of the more powerful and feature-rich phones to hit U.S. shores.

It is unclear whether the phone will launch with Android 4.0, but it is expected to.

The leaked pic here:

Sony has confirmed today that this fall's "game changing" Call of Duty game will also be made available on the handheld PlayStation Vita.

Guy Longsworth, senior vice president of PlayStation brand marketing noted the game during an interview: "And of course, in the autumn, [my two teenage sons are] really looking forward to Call of Duty on Vita, and we think that's going to be an absolute game-changer for the platform."

Without revealing the developer for the game, Longsworth noted top studios' commitment to Vita development: "Absolutely you will [see Naughty Dog on Vita]. You'll see a number of games coming out from all of our studios."

Finally, the company is committing long-term to the console: "We see this as a five to 10 year platform, so we'll judge the success of this in 12, 24, 36 months. We expect to have a great launch, but it's really in 12 or 24 months we'll know how successful it's been."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Chinese VP Xi Jinping have settled a long-standing trade dispute that will ease restrictions on imports of U.S. films into China.

China currently allows 20 "blockbuster" foreign films to be released each year but the new deal allows for 34 films, a significant improvement. The only catch, however, is the extra 14 films must be in Imax or 3D formats.

Additionally, the deal will allow foreign film-makers to keep 25 percent of box office revenue, compared to the current 13 percent.

In 2011, Hollywood films accounted for 40 percent of all box office revenue in China. The total value of China's box office was about 13.bn yuan (£1.3 billion) last year.

Independent film makers seem to be the happiest with the new deal: "We do think it's a breakthrough," Jean Prewitt, president of the Independent Film and Television Alliance said (via Guardian). "For the first time we really have the building blocks to begin to work competitively in that marketplace."

Indie producers can now negotiate fixed license fees rather than be stuck with 3%, which they are getting now in China.

Authorities have seized another $50 million of Megaupload-related assets.

The government also added that the company had 66.6 million registered users, far below the site's claims of 180 million. Only 5.86 million of those users ever uploaded files, "demonstrating that more than 90 percent of their registered users only used the defendant's system to download."

Along with the newly seized assets, the officials pressed new charges against the arrested members alleging that "Megaupload falsely represented to rights holders that it had removed infringing works from its servers."

The site was taken down last month, Megaupload and its owners are accused of taking over $500 million from copyright holders due to piracy, and cashing in on $175 million in profits from ads and premium subscriptions. Calling the group "Mega Conspiracy," the original indictment reads: "In exchange for payment, the Mega Conspiracy provides fast reproduction and distribution of infringing copies of copyrighted works from its servers located around the world."

The Verge has uncovered a document that suggests Barnes & Noble will release an 8GB version of their Nook Tablet.

By doing so, the company will be able to offer the tablet at $199, matching the price of the Amazon Kindle Fire, the top-selling 7-inch tablet in the market.

The document says the book store will unveil the version of the tablet on February 22nd, and the device will be available at least at Wal-Mart on that day.

Like the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet has a 7" display with a resolution of 1024x600. Also like the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet is powered by a 1GHz dual core processor, but the Barnes & Noble tablet has 1GB of RAM, twice that of the Kindle Fire.

At $199, the two devices will compete on an equal ground, but the Nook Tablet has the option for expendable memory whereas the Fire cannot.

Last week, Rovio announced via a "teaser" trailer that the next version of the blockbuster mobile game 'Angry Birds' will be based on space. Angry Birds Space will launch on March 22nd, presumably for Android, iOS and PC (if not for all platforms).

Today, Rovio North America general manager Andrew Stalbow has given a bit more detail into the game, claiming the game will prominently feature "zero gravity levels and slow-motion puzzles."

Furthermore, the company announced two big brand partnerships, NASA and National Geographic: "Science and education are very important to us, and we're very excited to have NASA and National Geographic as launch partners on Angry Birds Space."

Rovio recently launched Angry Birds for Facebook, and the game already has 840,000 daily active users. Overall, the game in all its iterations has been downloaded over 600 million times.