CAIT Asks for High level Enquiry into “UNHOLY NEXUS” of E-commerce Companies and Banks; FlipFit to Combine StitchFix and Instagram; Amazon Expands its AVOD plans with the Launch of its Customizable News App; Formula 1 Will Live-Stream Grand Prix in association with Twitch; Netflix expecting USD 2 Billion Funding for New Content; Huawei to License 5G Technology in the US; Indian Railways to Allow Promotion of the Movie Housefull 4 in a Train and more.
CAIT Asks for High level Enquiry into “UNHOLY NEXUS” of E-commerce Companies and Banks
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded high level enquiry by the Central Government on the association of e-commerce companies, brand-owning companies and the banks in alleged predatory pricing in the retail sector. The Prime Minister is requested to make a Group of Ministers for the enquiry by the CAIT Secretary. The CAIT alleged that the companies owing the brands, the banks and the e-commerce companies are collectively responsible for creating a major imbalance in the retail sector and violating FDI policies and the Competition Act. The brand-owning companies have also been accused of maintaining different pricing policies for offline and online markets, thus violating the Competition Act.
FlipFit to Combine StitchFix and Instagram
Dubai-based online fashion e-tailer, Elabelz and marketing studio, Elephant Nation, is all set to change the way we shop online. The whole idea behind this is to incorporate social activity in online shopping, which is otherwise very common in offline shopping. FlipFit will be an amalgamation of the social aspects of Instagram and the subscription box with retail elements of StitchFix. The app will create a social network of friends and followers, not borrowed from either Facebook or Instagram where the users could earn in-app cash for liking or voting on selfies that their friends take wearing any outfit. This in-app cash can be redeemed whenever the user purchases anything on the app.
Amazon Expands its AVOD plans with the Launch of its Customizable News App
Amazon has officially announced the launch of “News”, its customizable news app featuring content from CBS, Bloomberg, Reuters, Yahoo News and others on its ad-supported video (AVOD) streaming services. This new feature is already made available to the Fire TV users in the U.S. and will later be extended over the fire tablet. Amazon has also confirmed that it will be adding more news providers and additional features on Alexa. With the launch of this news app, Amazon is in the race with other news aggregators like Haystack.tv and Watchup and in stiff competition with the news sections of other ad-supported video services like Pluto and the Roku Channel. The e-commerce giant had also launched ad supported services for movies and TV-shows through its IMDb TV earlier this year, collaborating with warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM Studios.
Formula 1 Will Live-Stream Grand Prix in association with Twitch
In a recent licensing deal between Formula 1 and Twitch, the single-seater auto-racing federation will broadcast free-of-cost live telecast of the Mexican Grand Prix on the Twitch website and mobile app. The live stream will be available to Twitch users in six countries namely Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Along with the broadcast, additional interactive features like predicting the performance of the drivers will be there. Twitch is a US-based interactive gaming website which is looking forward to including more of live broadcasts of various sports.
Netflix expecting USD 2 Billion Funding for New Content
Netflix announced its plan of offering USD 2 billion bonds as it requires funds for more original content to face stiff competition from other online streaming players. As rivals like Apple, Disney, WarnerMedia start rolling out more of their original content, Netflix has felt the need to pull up its socks and invest more in creating original content. The company regularly raises debts to further its business. The news has however led to a fall in the stocks by 2%.
Huawei to License 5G Technology in the US
Huawei Electronics Co. Ltd., which has been banned from exporting its equipment in the U.S. in May this year, is looking forward to licensing 5G networking technology in the U.S. A licensing agreement with the telecommunications companies will keep Huawei-patented technologies alive in the U.S. which the company otherwise cannot market directly. By open-sourcing their codes to the U.S.-based companies, Huawei seems to prove that their codes are not hacked and the ban on the company was politically motivated. Also, Huawei is desperately trying to replace Google Apps and other Android-apps on their smart phones, and this could be their shot at getting resources to develope their own apps.
Indian Railways to Allow Promotion of the Movie Housefull 4 in a Train
IRCTC and Western Railways are rolling out a first-of-its-kind initiative, ‘Promotion on Wheels’, where trains will be used for promotion of movies, cultural events, sports and other programs. The first of such eight-compartment trains will host the cast and crew of the upcoming Bollywood movie, ‘Housefull 4’, for promotion and publicity. This train is to travel through Surat, Vadodara and Kota stations. IRCTC has approached several big production houses as a part of this initiative. A portion of the revenue generated will be going to the Indian Railways.
Authored and compiled by Anusmita Mazumder and Ashwini Arun (Associates, BananaIP Counsels)
The eCommerce Law and IP Transactions News Bulletin is brought to you by the eCommerce Law and Consulting/Strategy Division of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to [email protected] with the subject: eCommerce Law News.
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