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Cross-promotion rules apply to all private broadcasters licensed in the UK. Cross-promotion means the promotion on one television channel of another channel or service under the same or linked ownership, for example ITV1 promoting programmes available on ITV3, or Channel 4 promoting its digital services or their availability on cable, satellite and Freeview. It is thus to be distinguished from self-promotion, which is the promotion of programmes on the same channel. The importance of cross-promotion has increased considerably with the fragmentation of channels. It is also important as it does not...

The UK regulator, Ofcom, has issued new guidance to clarify the circumstances in which a person (or company) controls another. The guidance applies in relation to the question of de facto control; in other words, where the basic test of either 50% ownership of share capital or 50% of voting power is not satisfied. The concept of control (which is different from that in the general competition legislation) is important to secure that licence applications from companies comply with media ownership rules (including those on cross-ownership); to ensure that existing licensees are not in breach of these...

In 2004 and 2005 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport undertook an 18 month review of existing co-production treaties in consultation with the UK Film Council and the UK film industry. Based on this review, on 28 February 2005, it was announced the UK intended to develop a new series of bilateral co-production agreements designed to bolster economic and/or cultural benefits for the UK. Negotiation of new treaties or renegotiation of existing treaties were on the agenda for such countries as India, China, Morocco, Jamaica, Australia, new Zealand, Canada and France. The agreements enable films...

The UK Government has now published its delayed White Paper on the future of the BBC. In general, it repeats the proposals made in the earlier Green Paper (see IRIS 2005-4: 11). This will form the basis for the new Royal Charter for the Corporation, to run from the beginning of 2007 until the end of 2016; a draft Charter and Framework Agreement with the minister are published alongside the White Paper. For the first time, the Charter will refer explicitly to the scope of judicial review for enforcing its provisions and those of the Agreement. The White Paper sets out six new public purposes for...

In 1982, a book described as a historical conjecture, “The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail” (HBHG), was published. It suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children, and that Mary Magdalene fled to a Judaic Community in the South of France after Christ’s demise. Their putative offspring continued the bloodline from the Tribe of Benjamin to the Merovingian dynasty and from there to Godfroi de Bouillon. Two of the three authors of HBHG contended before the courts that in writing the novel “The Da Vinci Code” (DVC), Dan Brown had produced an infringing copy of their original work for which his...