Sept. 22-24/London: VFX 2000. David Scammell, (44) 1635 581973; dave@2m2l.com; Cath Large, (44) 207 242 844; cath@bksts.demon.co.uk….
– Sept. 22-25/Los Angeles: 109th AES Convention. (212) 661-8528; fax: (212) 682-0477; hq@aes.org; www.aes.org….
– Sept. 22-24/Orlando, Fla.: 5th Cinevue International Film/ Video Festival Competition. (904) 325-9356; stepostal@aol.com….
– Sept. 25/Orlando, Fla.: 5th Cinevue International Film/ Video Festival Competition entries deadline. (904) 325-9356; stepostal@aol.com….
– Oct. 1/Elmhurst, Ill.: Mobius Advertising Awards call for entries deadline. J.W. Anderson or Patricia A. Meyer, (630) 834-7773; fax: (630) 834-5565; www.mobiusawards.com….
– Oct. 5/Los Angeles: The 9th Annual AICP Show at the El Capitan Theater & Entertainment Center, hosted by AICP/West. Monica MacDonald, (323) 960-4763….
– Oct. 11/Marco Island, Fla.: The 3rd annual Marco Island Film Festival. (941) 642-FEST; www.marcoislandfilmfest.com….
– Oct. 12-15/Austin, Texas: Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference at the Austin Film Festival. Cyndy Purcell or Jill McGuckin, (512) 478-0578….
– Oct. 12-19/Austin, Texas: Austin Film Festival Competition. Cyndy Purcell or Jill McGuckin, (512) 478-0578….
– Oct. 15/Clinton Township, Mich.: International Automotive Advertising Awards call for entries deadline. (810) 226-0800; fax: (810) 226-0909; www.iaaawards.com….
– Oct. 27/Los Angeles: The IDA Awards. (310) 284-8422, ext. 26; fax: (310) 785-9334; idaawards@documentary.org….
– Oct. 31/Milan, Italy: 2000 Cresta Awards. Nancy Ross, (212) 696-1323; Fax: (212) 696-5505; www.cresta-awards.com….
– Nov. 9/Miami: The 9th Annual AICP Show at the Miami Museum of Science, hosted by AICP/Florida. Peggi McKinley, (305) 666-2528….
– Nov. 15/Honolulu: The 9th Annual AICP Show at the Honolulu Academy of Art Theater, hosted by AICP/Hawaii. Dennis Burns, (808) 593-8848….
– Nov. 16/Chicago: The 9th Annual AICP Show at the Chicago Historical Society, hosted by AICP/Midwest. Lia Elder, (312) 527-1480….
– Nov. 17/Dallas: The 9th Annual AICP Show at the Hall of State, hosted by AICP/Southwest. M.L. Nelson, (214) 741-3336….
– Dec. 7/Prague: The 9th Annual AICP Show at Veletrzni Palac, the Museum of Modern Art, hosted by Milk & Honey Films/AICP….
– July 9-13/Sydney, Australia: SMPTE 2001 Conference & Exhibition. www.smpte.com.au….
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More