The United States has asked yesterday a world trade panel to force China cracking down on pirated goods such as the American software products and movies. Although the Bush administration has admitted that China’s direction related to this matter has been improving, the American officials have also said that the fight is not over yet.
“Over the past several years, China has taken tangible steps to improve (intellectual property rights) protection and enforcement. However, we still see important gaps that need to be addressed.” – has said in a statement the spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Sean Spice.
The United States’ request to a formal case at the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body has come four month after it launched its challenged. The officials have argued that slipshod rules have helped the booming industry of pirated American products, such as software items, movies, music tracks and so on. The black market for these goods costs the United States’ companies billions of dollars annually.
So what the United States wants to see is a even more aggressive prosecution in China of those who pirate copyrighted or trademarked products, and also more stringent rules for what happens to the pirated materials once they have been seized. The United States and China held talks on this issue in June, but they then weren’t able to resolve their differences.
This complaint is not the only challenge the United States has filed against the Asian country, as the American administration is also considering requesting a WTO panel on another intellectual property rights issue, while two other cases are moving ahead at the WTO.
“We will pursue this legal dispute in the WTO and will continue to work with China bilaterally on other important (intellectual property rights) issues.” – has said spokesman Sean Spicer in the same statement.

The 9th of May 2008 will be a juicy day for the fans of “Speed Racer”, as on this beautiful spring day both the “Speed Racer” video game and movie will be released by their creators.
Warner Brothers will be the company behind both the movie and the video game and the company’s recent decision of releasing them on the same day becomes a proof of synergy in action.
The game is being developed by New Zealand-based Sidhe Interactive for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and it will first hit Nintendo’s Wii video gaming console and portable DS system. The PlayStation 2 version of the “Speed Racer” has been scheduled to reach the stores’ shelves along with the DVD release of the Warner Bros. Pictures’ film.
The producers behind “Speed Racer”, Larry and Andy Wachowski have previous experience in video gaming, as the worked with the developers of several successful games based on their “Matrix” movies.
The “Speed Racer” franchise is based on the classic popular cartoon series. Its live-action movie will star Emile Hirsch and it is being filmed at Studio Babelsberg, near Berlin.

Sure thing that only the true fans remember that Electronic Arts and famous director Steven Spielberg had agreed some time ago to join their efforts for developing three special games.
Anyway, although the company and Spielberg are still working at their important project, the developer Electronic Arts has recently unveiled some little clues about the games with the occasion of this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit, which has taken place in Santa Monica.
Neil Young, the general manager of Electronic Arts Los Angeles, hasn’t even revealed the names of the two games about which he has talked. He has only said that one will be an action puzzle game for Nintendo’s Wii video game console, and that it was inspired by the meeting between Steven Spielberg and the creator of “Mario”, developer Shigeru Miyamoto.
About the second game, whose code name of “LMNO” have been revealed, Young has said it is being developed for both Microsoft’ Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3. The game has been said to focus on the relation between the player and a non-playing character.
Although the release dates haven’t been clearly unveiled, the first game, code-named “PQRS”, has been said to open during Electronic Arts’ current fiscal year. “There’s a lot of software coming into the marketplace for the Wii, and we want to make sure that not only is it a great game but that it’s got the right commercial window that it can own.” – said Young.
This project hasn’t been Steven Spielberg’s first contact with the gaming industry, as he was involved in the creation of the successful game “Medal of Honor”.

Disney Online has recently announced that its massively multiplayer online game “Pirates of the Caribbean Online” will be delayed to fall, from its summer previously announced release. The reason for this delay would be the need for additional development time.
“Pirates of the Caribbean Online” is based on the popular amusement park ride and film franchise. It has been in beta testing for many months, but it seems that it needs more. The originally release date had been scheduled to be closer to the theatrical release of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”, but now this is not going to happen anymore.
“After a careful internal assessment of the state of game development as well as a review of external feedback, we have elected to spend additional development time. […] We will use this extra time to further enhance the game, respond to additional data we’ve collected during beta testing and incorporate more of the input we have gathered.” – has been the company’s statement.
“Pirates of the Caribbean Online” is designed as a computer game set in a virtual world and it is very important for Disney because it aims toward a non-traditional gaming audience. It is the company’s greatest effort till present to create a virtual world experience as an extension of a studio’s franchise.
Although the game is subscription-based, it has been said to also allow players to play it a third of way through without subscribing.

The creator of the famous TV drama “The West Wing” has accepted DreamWorks Studios’ invitation to write the screenplay for a future movie about the sensational trial of the 1968 anti-war activists known as the “Chicago Seven”.
This script will be part of a three-picture deal between Aaron Sorkin and the DreamWorks Studios, while the film will be developed as a potential directorial project for the Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg.
The two other projects developed by Aaron Sorkin for the DreamWorks Studios will be announced later. However, this first film that will be titled “The Trial of the Chicago 7” will concentrate on the high-profile conspiracy of the anti-war protesters that were accused of inciting riots outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention. These protesters include names like Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale, Tom Hayden and David Dellinger.
The trial was the final part of the riot, as the turbulent events included also clashes between the demonstrators and the police, which an official commission later found that had been sparked by the authorities. However, the riots and the “Chicago Seven” trial that followed became one of the defining events of the decade.
In addition to his creating and producing the Emmy-winning NBC political drama “The West Wing”, Aaron Sorkin has screenwriting credits on the hit movies “The American President” and “A Few Good Man”.
The screenwriter has also recently written the screenplay for another political drama titled “Charlie Wilson’s War”, which has been already set for release in December. The movie stars Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.
The release date for “The Trial of the Chicago 7” hasn’t been yet announced by the DreamWorks Studios.

What could be more important than having Google as a business partner? Maybe, only having the right thing to sell. But Universal Pictures’ movie “The Bourne Ultimatum” is more than the right thing to sell, so the deal between Google and Universal Pictures will work just fine!
“The Ultimate Search for Bourne with Google” is a new online game that makes the object of the agreement between the studio and the powerful search engine. The game will use such Google tools as Maps, Search, Images and YouTube and it has been designed as a promotional vehicle for Universal Pictures’ upcoming action movie “The Bourne Ultimatum”.
This will be the third movie from the “Bourne” series. It will star Matt Damon and it is to open on the 3rd of August.
“The Ultimate Search for Bourne with Google” was inspired by all three “Bourne” movies and has been announced to launch on the 16th of July in seven countries. Playing the online game will mean assuming the identity of the former CIA operative, tracking Jason Bourne across three continents and solving clues that would eventually bring you closer to uncovering Bourne’s identity.
This will be Google’s second online game tied to a movie release, as the first one involved Sony Pictures’ “The Da Vinci Code”. The game was build through the collaboration of Universal Pictures and Big Spaceship, a web design and marketing firm.
The game will be promoted by Google through search results related to the movie and through its millions of users’ customized iGoogle home pages. The players that will win the sweeptakes grand prize of the game will win a 2008 Touareg 2, offered by Volksawagen, whose new car is featured in “The Bourne Ultimatum”. MasterCard, also integrated in the game, will award one lucky player with a $1,000 MasterCard gift card each of the 15 weekdays that the players will be provided with the game. Other prizes involve money, 10 iPhones, and four trips to the winners’ choice of the cities featured in the movie and so on.
The movie is to launch in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

The famous action director John Woo is to both direct and produce “Ninja Gold”, a new property from the video game creator Warren Spector, the one who created such video games as “Deus Ex”, “System Shock” and “Thief: Deadly Shadows” and other video games.
The eventual movie will be released by 20th Century Fox and Warren Spector, the video game creator, will executive produce.
“Ninja Gold” is about a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old bloodline and legacy, who will be forced to confront the reality of covert warfare in the modern world. The Yakuza and the Russian mob being involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa will be the concept on which the story of the game will be based.
It was John Woo’s idea to do something involving the conflict between traditional and modernity and the specific conflict between the traditional ninjas and the modern-day setting. He was intimately involved in the creation of the “Ninja Gold” cast of characters, especially the hero.
The movie was said to still have fantastic elements from the game, although it would be more reality-based. However, the result of the collaboration between one of the biggest names in video games and one of the most famous action directors is expected to be a success.

“The Sims” has been one of Electronic Arts Inc.’s best selling computer games. But now the Sims will go on the screen too, as the company sold the movie rights to 20th Century Fox.
“The Sims” are one of Electronic Arts Inc.’s biggest franchises, and It includes sequels and expansions such as “The Sims: House Party”, or “The Sims: Vacation”. It has sold about 85 million copies since their release on the market seven years ago.
“The Sims” has been often described as a virtual dollhouse computer game, as it puts players in charge of simulated people. The players will help them make friends, find jobs, buy stuff and doing everything in order to have a happy life.
The computer game was created by the legendary game designer Will Wright, who is known for his creations that eschew linear storylines in the favor of the players’ creating and exploring their own worlds.
Rob Humble, the head of The Sims Studio at Electronic Arts Inc., said about the game: “The Sims has done an interactive version of an old story, which is what it’s like to have infinite power and how do you deal with it.”
The financial terms of the deal between Electronic Arts Inc. and 20th Century Fox haven’t been mentioned till now.

Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf, who star in the action movie “Transformers”, will be also providing with their voices and likenesses the ultimate playstation game “Transformers: The Game”.
“Transfomers: The Game” is to be played on PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and also on PC, starting with the date of 19th of June 2007.
The movie focuses on three characters and storyline set against the battle between Decepticons and Autobots, alien robots who are taking their war to Earth. Being directed by Michael Bay, the Paramount Pictures - DreamWorks Pictures action movie that was based on the popular line of Hasbro toys will have its release on the date of 4th of July 2007.
Shia LaBeouf said that he found seeing himself in his first video game one of the highlights of his career. “From the moment I first saw Activision was on set to create video games based on the film, I wanted to be part of this project.” The actor grew up as a big fan of “Transformers” and he is also a fanatic gamer.
The gamers that will play the new video game will be able to choose whose side they want to be (Autobots or Decepticons) and to explore, destroy and so on the world from the movie.

Midway Games Inc. announced that they would release an action games that would be made in collaboration with the action film director, John Woo. The game, which will include a high-definition copy of one John Woo’s movies, will be created as a special version game for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3.
The collector’s edition of Midway Games Inc.’s “Strangehold” will be taking advantage of Sony’s ultimate Blu-ray technology, which stores about five times more data then regular DVDs, allowing more content to fit on a disc.
Sony is counting on the ultimate Blu-ray technology to help drive sales of the PS3, which now faces serious competition from Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Wii and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360.
The special edition of “Strangehold” was announced to include John Woo’s 1992 classic movie “Hard Boiled”, which features Chow Yun-Fat as a detective from Hong Kong. Its slow-motion scene of the actor’s blasting with a pistol in each hand inspired homage in later movies, such as “The Matrix”, and as well in video games like “Max Payne” and others.
“Strangehold” was written as a “Hard Boiled” sequel and Midway said that director John Woo was involved in the writing of the storyline and in the reviewing progress of the game’s creation.
The new game is expected for this summer to be released.