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On 23 October 1996, the Italian Government approved a Decree to transpose the Council Directive 93/89 of 27 September 1993 on the coordination of certain rules concerning copyright and rights related to copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission the Cable and Satellite Directive'). The Decree amends the relevant rules of the general Italian Copyright Act ( legge No 633 of 22 April 1941). In particular, the Decree amends Article 16 of the Copyright Act, which relates to the exclusive right of the copyright owner to distribute his work ( diritto di diffusione ). This...

The Italian Parliament is considering a new Bill introduced by the Government in order to regulate both television and telecommunications activities. According to the Government's view, the convergence of the telecoms and TV sectors requires a common approach; therefore the whole system of communications is concerned by the new rules. The Bill complements the one concerning antitrust issues and the institution of an Independent Authority ( see IRIS 1996-9:13). Title I states the general principles inspiring the new legislation: freedom of expression, pluralism, protection of viewers and consumers....

At the end of August the Italian Government issued a Decree to postpone the deadline for the validity of antitrust rules in the broadcasting sector. As IRIS readers will remember ( see IRIS 1995-1:10), a decision of the Constitutional Court (n. 420 of 1994) struck down Article 15 of the 1990 Law Governing Public and Private Broadcasting in Italy because it permitted a single company (Berlusconi's Fininvest) to control three national channels. The Court considered that provision to be unconstitutional because it infringes the principle of freedom of expression laid down in Art. 21 of the Italian...

The Italian Cabinet has approved a Bill setting up an Authority to oversee communications and radio and television standards. The Bill will become law after it has been approved by the Public Works Committee of the Senate. Article 1 establishes the Authority as a single organisation covering the radio and television and the telecommunications sectors. The Authority comes under a Chairman and is made up of three bodies, each with specific functions. The three bodies consist of two committees, one covering infrastructure and networks and the other dealing with products and services and a third structure,...

In IRIS 1996-5: 7-10 we published an overview of the state of Signatures and Ratifications of European Conventions and other international treaties that are relevant to the audiovisual sector. The listing of when States became Party to the Convention relating to the distribution of programme-carrying signals transmitted by satellite (printed on page 8) is, however, not correct. Accidentily it reproduces the dates on which States became Party to the Berne Convention for the protection of copyright of literary and artistic works (as printed on page 7). The correct date on which States became Party...