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In a ruling of 12 March 2008, the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court - BVerfG ) explained its position concerning whether, and to what extent, political parties may own shares in private broadcasting companies. As part of judicial review proceedings instigated at the request of 232 members of the Bundestag, the court declared a provision of the Hessian Privatrundfunkgesetz (Private Broadcasting Act - HPRG ) to be unconstitutional. The provision states that broadcasting licences may not be granted to political parties or voter groups, nor to companies and organisations in which...

The regional media authorities in Germany have begun awarding the Mobile 3.0 consortium licences to set up and operate a platform for broadcasting mobile television in the DVB-H standard. After the relevant orders had been issued by the regional media authorities in Saxony and Lower Saxony at the end of January, most of the other authorities gave the green light in February for the joint venture between Neva Media GmbH and MFD Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland GmbH, thus implementing a recommendation made by the Conference of Regional Media Authorities at its meeting on 15 January 2008. In Bavaria,...

According to press reports, the collective society Gesellschaft zur Verwertung der Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrechte von Medienunternehmen mbH (VG Media) and Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e. V. (ZVEI), an association that represents the electrical engineering and electronics industries, have been able to agree on a common position in the dispute concerning royalties on set-top boxes. On 14 August 2007, VG Media published a scale of fees for the use of images and text employed for announcing and advertising television programmes in electronic programme guides (EPGs) and...

On 29 February 2008, the Media Commission of the Landesanstalt für Medien Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Media Authority – LfM) reached decisions on new licences to broadcast local and regional television and awarded seven ten-year licences for regional general-interest channels. While taking these decisions, the LfM also adopted a declaration on its strategy for avoiding the formation of local monopolies of influence on opinion-forming. According to section 33(2) of the Landesmediengesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Media Act), press undertakings...

According to a Federal Constitutional Court judgment of 27 February 2008, computers owned by people who are suspected of committing a criminal offence may only be tapped using spying software if this is necessary for the protection of extremely important general interests. The judgment was in response to a constitutional complaint made by a female journalist who is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Association of the Die Linke party and by three lawyers, against provisions of the Verfassungsschutzgesetz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (Constitutional Protection Act of the Land of North...