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According to media reports, on 22 June 2010, the Austrian Landesgericht für Strafsachen Wien (Vienna district criminal court) imposed a suspended three-month prison sentence on the German operator of a subscription-based download server. Subscribers could download pirate copies of current music, films and TV series via the operator's FTP server. He advertised his service in relevant forums and offered the choice of two download tariffs. A limited download service was available for EUR 15, whereas unlimited access cost EUR 20. The Austrian Verein für Anti-Piraterie der Film- und Videobranche e....

In June 2010, the Bundeskommunikationssenat (Federal Communications Senate - BKS) ruled that the withdrawal of an invitation to a political party to participate in a television programme constituted a breach of the objectivity rule. On 24 December 2009, ORF broadcast the programme "Licht ins Dunkel", in which viewers were encouraged to donate money to charitable causes. The programme included a discussion involving the presidents of the parties represented in the Nationalrat (national assembly). ORF had sent similar invitations to all party presidents. The plaintiff is a political party represented...

At the beginning of 2010, the Austrian Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Familie und Jugend (Ministry for the Economy, Family and Youth) announced that a new model for aid for the Austrian film industry would be introduced later in the year. This model is essentially based on the Deutsche Filmförderfonds (German Film Fund, DFFF; see IRIS 2007-1:3/3). At present, only the draft aid guidelines, which are currently at the notification stage, are available. According to the draft, the system will be implemented by the Bundesministerium für Finanzen (Ministry of Finance), which will use the Austrian...

The Austrian Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Administrative Court - VwGH) ruled on 10 May 2010 (Case 2009/17/0177) that the ORF licence fee only has to be paid if it is technically possible to receive all the television programmes covered by the ORF’s television remit. The legal dispute was preceded by an Administrative Court decision in 2008 (Case 2008/17/0163) in which the present plaintiff successfully brought an action against the levying of the ORF licence fee. The ORF had previously informed the plaintiff that a change in the encryption system meant that programmes could in future only be received...

The Austrian Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture - BMUKK) has distributed a draft amendment to the Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Aid Act) for evaluation (evaluation deadline: 15 March 2010). The most important change concerns the flexibility of blocking periods. In order to protect the different stages of exploitation, the draft prevents film producers from exploiting or allowing the exploitation of films or parts thereof during blocking periods (starting with their release in cinemas) on picture carriers in Austria or of German-language...