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The Investigating Committee on Media Concentrations ( Kommission zur Ermittlung der Konzentration im Medienbereich KEK) decided at its 21st sitting on 26 January 1999 that changes to shareholdings in the television company ProSieben could not be classified as harmful. Authorisation was required for Thomas Kirch to increase his holdings in the basic share capital, which carried voting rights, of ProSieben Media AG from 24.5 % to 58.4 % and of REWE Zentralfinanz eG from 40 % to 41.6 %. The changes, previously submitted to the Investigating Committee on Media Concentrations for approval, had already...

In a judgement of 15 December 1998 the Niedersachsen Higher Administrative Court ( Oberverwaltungsgericht OVG) dismissed the appeal of the television company RTL Television against a decision of the Land Media Authority of Niedersachsen. The subject of the original dispute was the observation that RTL Television, in broadcasting a programme, had violated the ban on surreptitious advertising. A repeat broadcast of the programme had also been forbidden. The children's programme concerned had been devoted to the "Barbie Doll", which was celebrating its thirtieth birthday. During the programme, phrases...

In its judgement on 5 November 1998, the Hanseatic Court of Appeal ( Oberlandesgericht - OLG), responding to an appeal by the FreeLens press photographers' association, amended the decision of the Hamburg Regional Court ( Landgericht - LG) of 29 August 1997. The proceedings concerned whether the Spiegel publishing company was entitled to include photographs originally published in the Spiegel news magazine between 1989 and 1993 in annual CD-ROM editions without the specific permission of the photographers concerned. The Hamburg Regional Court had dismissed the original action on the grounds that...

In a judgement on 12 November 1998, the First Court of Appeal of the Federal High Court ( BundesgerichtshofBGH), whose field of competence includes copyright law, asked to consider the long-running debate over whether broadcasting companies, as phonogram manufacturers, should be entitled to a share of revenue from sales of recording equipment and blank cassettes, ruled in favour of the broadcasting companies. The West German Broadcasting Corporation ( Westdeutsche Rundfunk - WDR) had asked to sign a copyright protection agreement with the Performing Rights Society ( Gesellschaft zur Verwertung...

In a judgement on 10 December 1998, the Federal High Court ( Bundesgerichtshof - BGH), overruled a decision of the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal ( Oberlandesgericht - OLG) on the admissibility of electronic press archives and remitted the case to that court. The appellant was the publisher of the " Handelsblatt" newspaper and economic magazine "Wirtschaftswoche" and also operated an economic database. The defendant used these publications as part of her occupation, which was the subject of the action. The defendant received from her customers original copies of these publications and then digitalised...