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In a final judgement of 4 August 1999, the Landgericht Köln (the Cologne District Court) ruled for the first time that a collection of Internet links was protected by copyright. The Court upheld the claim of the applicant, who operates a free Internet database and information service on subjects relating to parents, children and families, containing addresses, contact details and descriptions of initiatives, organisations and self-help groups. The main part of the applicant's web site is a database, from which individual information pages can be accessed. The service also contains an alphabetical...

Since 1 March 2000, private broadcaster RTL-2 has been showing the television programme "Big Brother". It portrays ten volunteers living in a building cut off from the outside world, constantly monitored by cameras and microphones in the various rooms of the house. There are daily reports on life in the house. Every two weeks, the inhabitants select two of their colleagues whom they think should be excluded. Television viewers decide through a telephone vote which of the two should leave. Viewers will select the winner of the 100-day contest, who will receive DEM 250,000 in prize money, from the...

On 21 February 2000, the Direktorenkonferenz der Landesmedienanstalten (the Conference of Directors of the Regional Media Authorities - DLM) adopted a draft set of common guidelines on advertising, the separation of advertising and programme material and television sponsorship. The guidelines transpose the advertising regulations of the "Television without Frontiers" Directive (97/36/EC), incorporated in the 4.Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (the Fourth Agreement between Federal States on Broadcasting - RfStV) and put in concrete form the demands that the Agreement makes on private broadcasters in terms...

The Federal Government has presented a draft Bill to amend the Strafprozessordnung (German Code of Criminal Procedure - StPO). The Bill aims to address the problems of guaranteeing freedom of the press and broadcasting, as set out in the Basic Law, on the one hand, whilst providing a functional criminal justice system capable of establishing the truth on the other. In the Government's opinion, it is unsatisfactory that the right of refusal to give evidence should apply only to periodicals, broadcasts and statements made by third parties. Currently, a journalist's right to refuse to disclose material...

The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court - BVerfG) in its judgment of 15 December 1999 has reinforced the protection afforded parents under the general right to privacy enshrined in Art 6 paras. 1 and 2 of the Grundgesetz (Basic Law - GG) with regard to the publication of portrayals of parents bestowing their attentions on their children. The complaint lodged by Caroline of Monaco concerned a ruling of the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court) of 19 December 1995 (file No. VI ZR 15/95). In proceedings before the latter against a newspaper publisher, the plaintiff and appellant...