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On 11 February 2011, representatives of Germany, Austria and Switzerland signed an agreement to step up economic and cultural cooperation in the film industry. The trilateral film agreement creates a legal framework for cooperation between producers from the three signatory States. It promotes the bi- or trilateral co-production of cinematographic works (Art. 1). Such co-productions will be categorised as national films and therefore be eligible to receive national funding (Art. 2(1) and (2)). A further condition is that the financial, artistic or technical contribution of each producer must represent...

IP addresses are protected personal data: they cannot be collected or used by a private undertaking without the consent of the persons concerned. This was the opinion of the Swiss Federal Tribunal (TF), upholding the opinion of the Federal Data Protection and Transparency Commissioner (Préposé fédéral à la protection des données et à la transparence - PFPDT). The PFPDT had ordered the Swiss company Logistep to stop its search for IP addresses on peer-to-peer networks until such time as a suitable legal basis had been adopted by the legislator. Under commission from copyright holders, Logistep was...

A number of amendments have been made to the Swiss Radio and Television Decree (ORTV) with a view to relaxing the rules on advertising and sponsorship, although the modifications, in force since 1 April 2010, concern private-sector broadcasters only. The Federal Council has deferred its decision on a possible relaxation of the provisions governing the public-sector broadcasting company SSR after examining the amount of the licence fee for receiving radio and television broadcasts (see IRIS 2010-5/12). In June 2010, the Federal Council decided not to increase the fee for the years 2011 to 2014,...

Watching digital TV programmes requires having a receiver capable of transforming the signal into images that can be viewed on the screen. The receiver is usually incorporated into latest-generation television sets (digital tuner), but a separate decoder is necessary for older sets. However, consumers are often obliged to rent or buy receivers approved by their telecommunication service provider (proprietary decoders). This obligation restricts users’ freedom of choice and hinders competition on the market for receivers of digital television broadcast by cable. The Federal Council is therefore...

In October 2009, Schweizer Fernsehen SF 1, a German-language channel operated by the Schweizerische Radio- und Fernsehgesellschaft (Swiss radio and television corporation - SRG) reported on the controversial referendum poster used by supporters of the petition for a referendum concerning a ban on the construction of minarets. A two-minute report in the “Tagesschau” news programme sought the views of municipal authorities and the Eidgenössische Kommission gegen Rassismus (Swiss anti-racism commission - EKR) on the controversial poster. A report lasting more than four minutes in the “10vor10” current...