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On 26 June 1998 the Presiding Judge of the Court of First Instance in Brussels delivered a judgement in the case between SABAM, a company which manages copyright fees, and the Professional Union of Radio and Television Distribution (RTD), an umbrella organisation for Belgian cable distributors. The Presiding Judge noted violation of Articles 51 and 52 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 30 June 1994. Article 51 states that originators have the exclusive right to authorise the retransmission by cable of their works. Retransmission by cable is taken to mean the simultaneous, unaltered...

In Belgium, Auvibel is responsible for collecting and redistributing payments due for making private copies of sound and audiovisual works. The company Hewlett Packard sells CD Recorders or CD Writers in Belgium; these make it possible to store information on a blank CD (CD-recordable). Auvibel considered that this recording equipment and the blank CDs was subject to payment for private copying as provided for in Article 55 of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 30 June 1994 ("the Act"). According to Auvibel, by refusing to make the due payment, Hewlett Packard was infringing the copyright...

The Parliament of the Flemish-speaking community has now reorganised the legal framework of private radio stations (Decree of 7 July, published in the Moniteur of 18 August 1998) This follows a number of related measures: the in-depth reorganisation of the legal framework of the public radio and television body (Decree of 29 April 1997, published in the Moniteur [official gazette] of 1 May 1997), the decree concerning the Flemish-speaking Media Commissariat and the Flemish-speaking Media Council (Decree of 17 December http://services.obs.coe.int/en/index.htm 1997, published in the Moniteur of 13...

In July the Belgian Federal Parliament adopted legislation transposing Directive 96/9 of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases ( see IRIS 1996-3: 6 and IRIS 1996-2: 13). Firstly, a specific law recognises the rights of the producer of a database and provides for important exceptions as regards the legitimate user. Secondly, a number of amendments to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act of 30 June 1994 relate to the protection of copyright regarding databases. A new Article 22a sets out the ways in which the originator of a database may not prohibit certain applications of reproduction...

In 1994 the RTBF broadcast a report entitled Belgica Nostra on the activity of Mafia-type organisations in Belgium and their connections with political, economic and financial circles in Belgium. The report was produced by the journalist Mrs Van De Moortel who had spent several months carrying out a very careful investigation with a view to denouncing the establishment of the Mafia in Belgium. Members of the Di Luciano family (referred to hereinafter as "the applicants") complained that the RTBF and Mrs Van De Moortel have impliedthat they maintained relations with the Mafia. Although the applicants...