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The Federal Cartel Office (BKartA) has imposed fines on ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG and the RTL Group in the amount of EUR 120 million and EUR 96 million respectively. The German guardian of competition accused the broadcasting groups of vertically sealing-off the advertising market. The two media concerns have accepted severe penalties, whereupon the BkartA subsequently, on 5 October 2007, discontinued the current procedure. Vertical restriction of advertising was apparent in the “share-deals” offered over many years by the marketing firms of the broadcasters: SevenOne Media and IP Deutschland. Such...

In a ruling of 25 September 2007, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided that a judicial review should be carried out on the decision by the Federal Cartel Office (BkartA) to ban the planned merger between Axel Springer AG and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. The BGH thereby quashed a decision by the Düsseldorf Regional Appeal Court (OLG), which had ruled that the appeal by Springer against the ban by the BKartA was inadmissible (see IRIS 2006-4: 10). The OLG took the view that the subject of dispute had been settled, inferring this from the fact that the Springer publishing house and the investors...

In a recently published ruling of 13 July 2007 (Az. 1 BvR 1783/05), the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) took a decision on the issue of the limits of artistic freedom, a right guaranteed under the constitution. In the case before the court, a novel (“Esra”) depicted intimate details of a love relationship between the Esra character and the first-person narrator, a writer, together with the associated family surroundings. The sometime girlfriend of the author and her mother have recognised themselves in the characters portrayed in the novel and instituted proceedings against the publication...

The European Commission announced on 17 October 2007, that it has suspended the breach of contract proceedings pending against Germany since April 2006. At issue in these proceedings were the provisions concerning the issue of broadcasting licences outlined in the Schleswig-Holstein broadcasting law and the Lower Saxony media law, according to which the appraisals on the issue of broadcasting licences should additionally include whether the studio production of a programme should be carried out in the actual state concerned, and to what extent the application should contain the requirement to produce,...

In the proceedings relating to the issue referred by the regional court in Koblenz for an intermediary decision (case C-244/06; see IRIS 2006-9: 5), Advocate-General Mengozzi has presented his final proposal. He proposed that the ban, established in §12 para. 3 No. 2 of the German Protection of Young Persons Act, on mail-order sales of video material that has no reference to their having been given clearance for access by young persons under national arrangements, is compatible with community law. The ban, described as “terms of sale” is not a measure of equivalent effect to that under Art. 28...