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On 30 January 2003, the Oberlandesgericht München (Munich Court of Appeal - OLG München) published a verdict in a dispute that had been dragging on for years concerning the form of a joint agreement between the Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten mbH (Performing Rights Collecting Society - GVL) on the one hand and the Verband Privater Rundfunk und Telekommunikation e.V. (Union of Private Broadcasters and Telecommunications Companies - VPRT) and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Privater Rundfunk (Association of Private Broadcasters - APR) on the other. The GVL is a collecting company which,...

In a judgement published on 4 February 2003, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that the holders of performance rights also own the rights for forms of exploitation that were still unknown at the time when the relevant contract was concluded. In both cases being heard, performing artists had, in 1972 and 1979 respectively, granted to record companies the right to exploit music recordings "in all possible ways". CDs were not expressly mentioned in either Institute of European Media Law (EMR) Saarbrücken / Brussels contract. In the 1980s, the record companies published recordings...

A new Landesmediengesetz (Regional Media ActThürLMG) for the Thuringia Bundesland entered into force on 14 January 2003. Under the Act, the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting is to be accelerated. According to Article 3.8 of the ThürLMG, only digital terrestrial frequencies will be allocated in Thuringia after 1 January 2004. Analogue frequencies will continue to be available in exceptional cases if, on account of national, regional or local circumstances in the supply area, this is necessary to guarantee sufficient diversity of programming and opinion, or if the broadcaster also...

In a press release dated 9 January 2003, the Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Verwertungsrechte (Musical Performance and Mechanical Exploitation Rights Company - GEMA) announced that the collecting societies that form the Zentralstelle für Überspielrechte (Central Office for Reproduction RightsZPÜ) had reached an agreement with the Informationskreis AufnahmeMedien (Recording Media Information Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken / Brussels Unit - IM) concerning copyright taxes for DVDs. The agreement covers blank DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-RAM disks and stipulates...

At the end of 2002, the Federal Government representative for culture and the media issued a new set of guidelines on screenplay grants in Germany. The most significant change compared to the previous guidelines is that screenplay authors themselves are now entitled to apply for a grant. Previously, authors could only submit applications jointly with a film producer. Basic grants of up to EUR 15,000 are available for the initial production of a draft film script, with a further EUR 15,000 (or in special cases up to EUR 3-5,000) avaiInstitute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken / Brussels...