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[ FAST FACTS HAWAII ]

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HAWAII
Isle company loses case against 'Survivor'

A federal appeals court has sided with the producers of the hit reality television series "Survivor" in its legal battle with a Hawaii company that makes sunscreen, surfboards and other beach-themed products.

Surfvivor Media Inc. sued Survivor Productions LLC, claiming trademark infringement for selling sunscreen lotion with the show's logo in Hawaii.

The lawsuit said the "Survivor" name was too similar to the "Surfvivor" brand of sunscreen, which had been in existence for several years before the series first aired on CBS in May 2000.

In response to the lawsuit, CBS parent Viacom said in July 2001 that the TV series' logo was different in many ways from Surfvivor's.

Survivor subsequently was granted summary judgment.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment yesterday, saying Surfvivor failed to present sufficient evidence to prove its mark and Survivor's logo were similar enough to create a likelihood of confusion -- one of the elements of a trademark infringement claim.

Hawaiian Air still best with time

Hawaiian Airlines ranked best in the nation in on-time service and fewest flight cancellations last month, according to ratings of 19 airlines by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Hawaiian led in on-time service for the 17th straight month. The carrier had the second-best baggage handling service last month and was third-best in avoiding oversold planes during the first quarter, the department said.

Hawaiian's planes were 90.5 percent on time during March, nearly 8 percentage points ahead of second-place SkyWest.

NATION
Yahoo cuts content deal with Viacom

Yahoo Inc., the No. 2 U.S. Internet search engine, signed agreements with companies including Viacom Inc. to include content from CBS News and MTV in its search engine for finding video clips on the Web.

Yahoo said its video search engine, available on a test basis since December, will also be formally released today. Google Inc., the most-used search engine, said May 2 that it added 12 new TV channels including Cable News Network and the Discovery Channel to its index.

Yahoo and Google are racing to develop features to search online videos as more users get high-speed Internet connections and the companies seek to broaden their search engines beyond static Web pages. The features underscore the blurring lines between the Internet and television as the amount of video content on line rises.

"The success of this product is partly driven by the rising penetration of broadband," said Bradley Horowitz, Yahoo's director of media and desktop search, in an interview. "We see a future where the ability to scroll through a programming guide on your television becomes untenable," as the amount of video content available grows, he said.

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, is adding other video content to its site, including movie trailers and clips from programs such as Walt Disney Co.'s "Lost."

WORLD
Indian airline expects first-year profit

SpiceJet Ltd., a low-fare carrier built from the former Royal Airways Ltd., expects to make a profit in its first year of operations by tapping increased demand for budget travel in India, Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

SpiceJet plans to sell $90 million of bonds that can be converted into shares to help fund the purchase of 10 Boeing Co. aircraft as it prepares to start flights this month. The bonds will be listed in Singapore or Luxembourg, Ajay Singh, director of the New Delhi-based airline, said today in an interview.

Indian airlines, including SpiceJet, are counting on economic expansion and rising incomes to boost demand for business and leisure travel.

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NEW JOBS

» Clear Channel Radio Hawaii has hired Emelyn Balisacan as a sales assistant for KSSK FM 92.3/KSSK AM 590, KHVH 830 AM and KHBZ 990 AM. She previously served as an intern for the Perry & Price Saturday Morning Show.

» ProService Hawaii, a professional employer organization, has appointed Paul W. Clark senior vice president. He previously worked as Co-Advantage Resources sales and marketing director.

» KMH LLP has hired four new managers: Alan Matsui has been hired as assurance practice senior manager. He previously served as Atlas Insurance chief financial officer. Bess Hsieh has been hired as risk consulting and compliance group manager. She most recently served as a BearingPoint assistant regional controller. Eugene Hamamoto has been hired as the KMH Solutions senior manager. He will be responsible for general business and government consulting. Damon Goo has joined to focus on services in the information technology industry.

PROMOTIONS

» Central Pacific Bank has promoted Earl K. Kaneshiro to the bank's senior vice president and commercial banking division senior manager. Ralph S. Okazaki has been promoted to senior vice president and wholesale credit approval division manager. And Lars B. Larson has been promoted to customer loan department manager and vice president.