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In two appeal judgements given at the end of April, the Federal Court in Karlsruhe ruled that publication of lists of "top professionals" by news magazines constituted unfair competition, thus upholding the judgements previously given by the Munich Court of Appeal. The magazine, "Focus", had run a series of articles on doctors and lawyers in Germany and had used criteria such as "reputation among colleagues" and "membership of expert bodies" to produce lists of the "500 best doctors" and "500 best lawyers". The court saw this as harmful to other members of these professions, since claims that...

In IRIS 1997-2: 10 we reported on the legislative procedure of the Information and Communications Services Act (Informations- und Kommunikationsdienstegesetz - IuKDG) and on the Agreement between the Federal States on Media Services (Medienstaatsvertrag). Both became effective on 1 August 1997. This gives Germany uniform framework conditions for the use of various electronic information and communications services. While the Agreement between the Federal States on Media Services, which is the legislative responsibility of the Länder, settles matters concerning media services with broadcasting...

Representatives of ARD and ZDF have agreed with a working group of broadcasting experts from the Länder that no fee should be levied for the time being on personal computers with Internet connection. The public service broadcasters had been pressing for such a fee because broadcasting programmes can also be received partly via Internet connections. ARD had suggested applying a pro rata reduction to the fee for using PCs to receive broadcasts via the Internet in a business context. The group of experts has now reached agreement with ARD and ZDF against charging PCs with an Internet connection...

On 9 July the "Association for Voluntary Self-Regulation of Multimedia service providers" (Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter e.V. - FSM) was set up in Bonn. The FSM is to represent organisations and companies in the multimedia sector in their purpose to protect the valid interests of users and the public, particularly as regards racial discrimination and oppression, and to reinforce the protection of young people on a self-responsible basis. Both the new federal "Multimedia Act" and the "Multimedia Agreement" between the Länder (Information and Communications Services Act...

On 14 July 1997, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland concluded an agreement on cultural co-operation with the aim of developing their relations in all cultural areas, including science and education. It entered into force on 4 January 1999. The agreement is guided by the provisions of the German-Polish Treaty of 17 June 1991 on good neighbourly relations and friendly co-operation. For the purpose of exchanging views and experience and in order to develop co-operation, the contracting parties undertake to provide assistance on organising visits by representatives of the...