Online retailer Amazon is poised to take on Apple's iTunes store with a new music download service that will sell tracks without the digital rights management restrictions that aim to prevent people from copying the music they've purchased.

News Corp.'s MySpace has launched a new video section containing clips from media companies like The New York Times, Reuters, and Fox's IGN Entertainment, the company said today.

News Corp. reportedly is griping about clips that parody "The Simpsons" now appearing on Broadcaster.com, according to press reports.

YouTube rival Joost just got a $45 million infusion from companies including Viacom and CBS -- controlled by YouTube frienemy Sumner Redstone.

Lawsuits stemming from a clip of Uri Geller on YouTube apparently crossed in the mail this week.

Entertainer Uri Geller has landed in court -- the latest defendant in a string of cases related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed suit against the "paranormalist," accusing him of misusing the DMCA to get a video he found objectionable taken off YouTube.

Viacom might still be feuding in court with YouTube, but Viacom majority owner Sumner Redstone apparently doesn't bear hard feelings toward the video-sharing site. Another company overseen by Redstone, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster, plans to develop a new video channel on YouTube, Bookvideos.tv, to promote authors.

The lawsuits are piling up for video-sharing site YouTube. A United Kingdom soccer organization, the Football Association Premier League, along with music publisher Bourne, have just sued the site for copyright violations.

Rumors are swirling this morning that Microsoft and Yahoo are again contemplating a merger. The Wall Street Journal and New York Post both reported that executives at the two companies are talking about Microsoft acquiring Yahoo; the Post pegged the price at around $50 billion.

All of the current crop of presidential hopefuls is attempting to tap into the Internet to rally support and raise funds, but it's obvious that they haven't yet come to terms with the role that ordinary consumers play in Web 2.0. Yet another example came this week, when the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama got into a dispute with Joe Anthony, who had been among the politician's biggest supporters.