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In a decision of 21 August 2013 Ofcom (Office for Communication) has imposed a financial penalty on the broadcaster Al Ehya Digital Television Limited for breaches of the terms of its licence related to the broadcasting of material likely to incite crime or disorder, and also material lacking the requisite degree of responsibility when handling religious content. The infringement arouse from the programme entitled Paigham-e-Mustafa broadcast on 3 May 2012 at 11:00h on the channel Noor TV. Noor TV is a satellite channel that focuses on Islam and is broadcast in numerous languages and is available...

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, rejected on 20 June 2013 a complaint of undue discrimination made by British Telecommunications (BT) about the refusal of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) to carry an advertisement for BT’s new sports channels on Sky Sports. The Communications Act 2003, s.319, requires Ofcom to secure that there is no undue discrimination between advertisers, and this is implemented through its Code on the Prevention of Undue Discrimination between Broadcast Advertisers. BSB had refused to carry the advertisement because it does not itself retail the BT channels. It claimed...

On 18 June 2013, the UK Culture Secretary announced an agreement with the internet industry that the self-regulatory Internet Watch Foundation will actively seek out images of child abuse on the internet. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) was established in 1996 by the internet industry. It receives reports from internet users of sexually abusive images of children, and provides for the industry a ‘notice and takedown’ service, which alerts internet service providers and hosting companies of such content so that it can be removed. The Culture Secretary arranged a summit of major internet service...

On 13 August 2013 the Cultural Test (Television Programmes) Regulations 2013 came into force. The Regulations introduce points-based “cultural tests” for three genres of television programmes: dramas, documentaries and animation. The purpose is to determine whether a programme may be certified as a “British programme” by the Secretary of State under Part 15A of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 (as inserted by the Finance Act 2013). Certification as a British programme is a condition of eligibility for television tax relief under that Act. If so, a maximum tax credit will be available to the UK production...

On 25 April 2013, Section (clause) 77 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 was given Royal Assent (came into effect) .It introduces a new section 116A to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which provides a framework from which further regulatory provisions will derive in order to regulate the status and exploitation of orphan works. An orphan work is where the author or creator of the copyright cannot be identified, found, or it remains uncertain whether the material remains within copyright. The key provisions arising from Section 116A are as follows: - a work will not be...