Legal news
AIMR to change name following Optimisa dispute
UK— Newly launched agency Andrew Irving Market Research is to change its name, following a request from the parent company of Irving’s old firm, Andrew Irving Associates.
Court denies Nielsen's third motion to dismiss Sunbeam case
US— Third time unlucky for Nielsen. A district court judge has refused the TV ratings firm’s latest attempt to dismiss an antitrust case brought against it by Florida broadcaster Sunbeam Television.
Court sides with Arbitron against SBS
US— A New York court has ordered radio station owner Spanish Broadcasting System to keep encoding its broadcasts so they can continue to be measured by Arbitron’s portable people meter-based ratings service.
Court orders Spanish radio broadcaster to resume PPM encoding
US— Arbitron has been granted a temporary restraining order to force a radio broadcaster to resume encoding its broadcasts so that they can be detected by the firm’s portable people meter (PPM) technology.
Healthcare surveys start again in Minnesota
US— Minnesota is back open for pharmaceutical market research following clarification to a rule that seemingly prohibited healthcare practitioners from taking part in surveys.
Sacked InfoGroup exec claims $1m in unpaid severance
US— Research and database marketing group InfoGroup is facing a lawsuit from sacked senior executive Stormy Dean, who claims he is owned more than $1m in unpaid severance and bonuses.
Round three under way in Sunbeam vs Nielsen TV ratings dispute
US— Sunbeam Television has filed a second amended anti-trust complaint against Nielsen, following the part-dismissal of its previous complaint earlier this month.
Sunbeam's antitrust claims against Nielsen dismissed
US— A Florida court has for a second time dismissed antitrust claims brought by Sunbeam Television against TV ratings firm Nielsen – but the broadcaster has again been given leave to amend its complaint.
ZL files fresh libel complaint against Gartner
US— Software firm ZL Technologies has filed a new libel complaint against IT researcher Gartner, after an earlier complaint was dismissed by a court last month.
Google Analytics 'illegal' say German regulators
GERMANY— Data protection officials in Germany are warning that the use of Google Analytics to track people’s online behaviour is against the law, the national newspaper Die Zeit reports.
SBS not cowed by PPM encoding order
US— Radio station owner Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) appears uncowed by a court order earlier this week forcing it to resume encoding its broadcasts for measurement by Arbitron’s portable people meter-based (PPM) ratings system.
PPM Coalition calls for FCC probe in light of Arbitron's legal dispute with SBS
US— Customers of Arbitron’s PPM radio ratings system have called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the system, after the research firm took action to force a broadcaster to continue encoding its signals.
Nielsen moves to dismiss latest Sunbeam antitrust complaint
US— Nielsen has made a third bid to dismiss allegations of antitrust violations brought by Sunbeam Television, arguing that the broadcaster has failed to present a substantive claim for monopolistic abuse.
Youth Research boss pleads guilty to federal fraud charges
US— Karen Forcade, the president of now-defunct research agency Youth Research Inc, has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in connection with faked child safety tests for cigarette lighters. She is due to be sentenced at a later date.
Comcon takes tough stance over TGI trademark in Russia
RUSSIA— Research agency Comcon has vowed to continue using the TGI survey brand in Russia following Kantar’s decision to make a TNS survey the official TGI partner in the country.
Ratings rift rocks Turkish television industry
TURKEY— The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has thrown the Turkish TV industry into turmoil with plans to withdraw its channels from the ratings system run by AGB Nielsen, which is commissioned by joint industry committee TIAK.
Gartner looks to kill off libel action with call for dismissal
US— Gartner will go to court next month in a bid to put an end to a libel action brought against it by a software company angry at being called a “niche” vendor.
Arbitron boss defends PPM technology at House hearing
US— Arbitron chief executive Michael Skarzynski defended his firm’s portable people meter (PPM) technology at the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government reform yesterday.
Springfield mayor fined over phantom poll
US— The Oregon Elections Division has fined Springfield mayor Sid Leiken after finding him guilty of violating campaign finance laws over a payment he supposedly made to his mother’s market research agency to conduct a poll about a new gas tax.