February 7, 2005

Some participants are stepping up their efforts in long-roiling public relations battle between copyright owners threatened by digital piracy and technology advocates opposed to strict controls on copying of digital media, and on kinds of software that make piracy easy, as Supreme Court hearing on pivotal case nears; case pits copyright holders (represented by MGM Studios) against makers of file-sharing software (Grokster and StreamCast Networks); both sides face difficulty in winning hearts and minds of teenagers, consumers and lawmakers; photos (M)

Pres Bush's budget would more than double co-payment charged to many veterans for prescription drugs, and would require some to pay new fee of $250 a year to use government health care; administration officials say those proposals are in $2.5 trillion budget Bush will unveil on Feb 7 in effort to cut deficit; fierce debate is expected on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have already pledged to oppose any Bush administration effort to stint on veterans' benefits; government has no immediate estimate of how many veterans would be affected if user fee and co-payment proposals are adopted; veterans' groups, which quickly attacked proposals, claim hundreds of thousands of people would end up paying more, and that many would be affected by both changes; overall, Bush is seeking 2.7 percent increase in Dept of Veterans Affairs discretionary spending, which is subject to annual appropriation by Congress, to $33.4 billion; remainder of $70.8 billion for agency is for entitlements which are authorized under prior laws (M)

New ABC Reality Program To Provide Medical Care ABC Television, which has captured big audiences in recent years with reality programs that chronicle alterations to people's physical appearance and to their homes, will apply that formula to people's health. The network has agreed to place an initial order of six episodes for a program with the working title ''Miracle Workers,'' according to two people who were briefed on the deal. In the program, a team of physicians will scour the country seeking individuals in need of urgent medical care but without the wherewithal to obtain it on their own. [C7.] The Super Bowl Ad Standouts The commercials on Fox during Super Bowl XXXIX were, in general, markedly better than typical spots from the last few Super Bowls -- though there were some stinkers. And the reason for that vast improvement could well be Janet Jackson's breast-baring during the halftime show last year. One standout: a commercial for a new line of Degree deodorants sold by Unilever that took a risk by pretending to celebrate men who avoid risk, as embodied by a make-believe brand of ''Inaction Heroes'' dolls, above, bearing names like Mama's Boy. Stuart Elliott: Advertising. [Page C8.] Tiny Chip Challenges PC Industry In a new volley in the battle for digital home entertainment, I.B.M., Sony and Toshiba are to announce details of their newest microprocessor design, known as Cell, which is expected to offer faster computing performance than microprocessors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. [C3.] Hopes for Chinese Television Jack Pan aspires to be the Larry King of China. It is a grandiose ambition for a budding Chinese television host who began his career as an engineer and propaganda official. But Mr. Pan, like many other Chinese and international broadcasters, is betting that a gradual opening of China's television industry will bring lucrative opportunities. [C6.] A Battle Image Leads to Debate Since the start of the second Palestinian uprising more than four years ago, many children have died in gunfire. But it is the harrowing image of a terrified 12-year-old boy, shielded in vain by his father, that carries the iconic power of a battle flag. Egypt and Tunisia issued postage stamps of the boy, crouching against his father and under attack from bullets in September 2000. The image is based on television news footage that some people claim was staged. [C6.] Frontiers Change for Phone Giants A frenzy of new merger activity could propel the telecommunications giants into a new level of direct geographic competition. [C3.] A New Direction at Google After Google disclosed that it had been granted the right to sell domain names, a question in many minds was why the company, which just reported click-advertising sales of more than $1 billion in the most recent quarter, would want to be in a relatively low-margin business. Bob Tedeschi: E-Commerce Report. [C4.] Rosneft Says Financing Is Domestic Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil company, insisted that foreign banks were not involved in financing a prized oil asset. [C2.]

First stage of federal pilot program to determine how major cities can deliver medicine to thousands of people within 48 hours of terrorist attack has ended, and New York is grappling with several proposals to achieve that goal; one plan being considered involves using postal workers to distribute medicines; city health officials question reliability of any delivery force, especially one that is made up of volunteers or people with no medical training; program, known as Cities Readiness Initiative, was announced by Health and Human Services Dept in May 2004, and is coordinated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (M)

Celebrating 60th anniversary of late reggae star Bob Marley's birth, his wife, Rita, sons, including Ziggy Marley, and numerous other admirers perform before tens of thousands of people in concert in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; photos (M)