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BRUSSELS, April 26: The European Parliament has passed legislation enacting criminal penalties—fines and jail time—against individuals who infringe on intellectual property rights for commercial gain. The vote passed by 374 votes to 278, with 17 abstentions. The wide-ranging legislation, which …

NEW YORK, April 25: FOX’s House and ABC’s Lost showed the greatest audience gains in digital video recorder playback within seven days of the initial linear broadcast, according to The Nielsen Company’s first look at the most "timeshifted" broadcast network …

LOS ANGELES, April 25: Sony Pictures Entertainment has issued a statement against news reports about bootleg copies of Spider-Man 3 being sold in China, with the studio stating that its own investigation “has revealed no case of the film being …

LOS ANGELES, April 25: E! Networks is set to launch in Canada in an alliance with CanWest MediaWorks, which will rebrand its over-the-air CH Network as E! on September 1. This marks the first time that E! will be delivered …

LOS ANGELES, April 25: Mark Burnett is working with MySpace on a new reality show, Independent, which sets out to find the next great politician in the U.S. The online, offline, on-air multimedia campaign is expected to launch in early …

HAMILTON, April 25: Central European Media Enterprises has announced a raft of new local productions as it looks to further strengthen its position in the Central and Eastern European broadcasting landscape. “One of CME’s massive strengths is in the success …

NEW YORK, April 25: WE tv has added the new 6×1-hour original series Twister Sisters to its lineup, and has renewed John Edward Cross Country and American Princess for a second season. Twister Sisters is scheduled to premiere in December. …

LONDON, April 25: FMX, FremantleMedia’s cross-platform division, has launched Project V, an interactive online short-form comedy drama that showcases the lives and observations of six young up-and-coming performers from Britain and the U.S. Available at www.project-v.net, Project V features short-form …

MAINZ, April 25: ZDF Enterprises’ fictional programs proved to be a hit with international buyers at MIPTV—accounting for approximately 45 percent of the company’s sales revenue at the market—led by new deals on H20-Just Add Water, which has now been …

TORONTO, April 25: Banff World Television Festival (BWTVF), taking place in Banff, Canada, from June 10-13, has added acclaimed British screenwriter Paul Abbott and U.S. sitcom specialist Chuck Lorre to this year’s lineup of Master Class sessions. Abbott produced the …