THE DAY THE CRAVING STOPPED

Toronto-based site iCraveTV.com has ceased broadcasting U.S. and Canadian TV shows after litigation from the MPAA, the NFL, the NBA and a host of Canuck broadcasters resulted in a settlement. As far as we can tell, site founder William Craig and parent company TVRadioNow Corp. "settled" for shutting down the site and agreeing to engage in no further copyright infringement, while MPAA chief Jack Valenti and the other litigants agreed not to hand Craig his ass.

Prior to the agreement, a federal judge ordered iCraveTV to cease operations for at least three months. The site—which bills itself as "the world’s first live, 24-hour a day, free Internet companion"—carried programming from 17 stations, four of which operated out of Buffalo, N.Y. The site briefly allowed users to have a mini-TV on their desktops while they engaged in other computer activities. Craig immediately declared his intention to begin negotiating individual licenses with rights holders to allow video streaming on the site, promising further announcements in the coming weeks.

Despite frequent speculation that digital delivery will make current copyright law obsolete, the case’s outcome appears to underscore the ability of big content controllers to put the kibosh on new technology that tries to sidestep the present rules of the game. Which might not bode well for MP3.com and other music-based enterprises facing infringement suits—though few observers are willing to lay odds on that.

Meanwhile, the MPAA also put the smack down on another iCrave-like venture, Czech site TV Nova, which ceased most of its operations on 2/18. "The resolution of this matter will serve as a deterrent to anyone who seeks to take that which they do not own," Valenti declared. "Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go shake down a producer who owes me 80 boxes of ziti."