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On the occasion of the directors' conference held 7 and 8 December 1998 in Munich, the directors of the regional media authorities have completed the first structural paper dated 16 December 1997 about the distinction between broadcasting and media services after a hearing of representatives of the association of private cable distributors ( Verband Privater Kabelnetzbetreiber e.V. - ANGA), of the study group for private broadcasting ( Arbeitsgemeinschaft Privater Rundfunk - APR), of the federal association of German newspaper publishers ( Bundesverband Deutscher Zeitungsverleger - BDZV), of the...

Under § 26 para. 2 of the Agreement between the Federal States on Broadcasting ( RundfunkstaatsvertragRfStV), it is assumed that an audience market share of 30% leads to a predominant power of opinion-making. Among other things, a television broadcaster having reached this threshold must not be granted any further licence. The same applies if the audience market share is slightly below this value, provided that further conditions stated in § 26 of the RfStV are met. The law has left open the extent of the figure below the 30% line that is still considered "slightly below". In the context of the...

In a judgement given on 15 October 1998, the Berlin Administrative Court (VG Berling) authorised the ProSieben Media AG by means of provisional legal protection to broadcast the Willy Bogner film "Fire, Ice, and Dynamite" ( Feuer, Eis und Dynamit) without having to indicate that it is an extended advertising programme. The film had already been the issue of two competition legislation decisions of the Federal Court (BGH: Judgement dated 6 July 1995 I ZR 58/93 and judgement dated 6 July 1995 I ZR 2/94). The BGH instructed the Willy Bogner Film GmbH to point out the particular advertising nature...

The Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht - BVerfG) has decided on 28 October 1998 not to accept a constitutional complaint entered by the ZDF ( Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen). Title merchandising of all kinds of products therefore does not fall under the protection of the freedom of broadcasting guaranteed by Article 5, para. 1, clause 2 of the Basic Law. In 1987, the ZDF had broadcast a serial entitled "The Guldenburg Heritage" ( Das Erbe der Guldenburgs) which was partly filmed in a castle. Even before the shooting had been completed, the owner of the building had registered...

On 7 July 1998, the Federal Minister of Justice issued the preliminary draft of a fifth amending act on the Copyright Act, the aim being to bring the latter into line with developments in the field of information and communication technology. The primary purpose of the draft is to implement two treaties adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) - the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty - as rapidly as possible ( see IRIS 1997-1:5). One important innovation in the draft is a new transmission right - the "right to make available". This covers...