Search results : 307

A remarkable decision has been taken by the Oberster Gerichtshof (Supreme Court – OGH) on the question of the principles that apply to the interpretation of political statements when an assessment has to be made of whether the person making the statement is to be punished for the resulting injury to the honour of the politician criticised. The origin of the case was a caricature in a publication for politically interested readers that appeared in the year 2000. It showed Mr K, a politician of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (Austrian Freedom Party – FPÖ), surrounded by women and children and...

For four decades, the non-governmental Presserat (Press Council) monitored compliance with journalistic standards in Austrian newspapers. In 2002, the Verband Österreichischer Zeitungen (Association of Austrian Newspapers - VÖZ) withdrew because it felt the Press Council had too much influence. Since then, the Press Council, although legally still in existence, has been inactive. In July 2008, the Gewerkschaft der Privatangestellten Druck, Journalismus, Papier (Journalists' Union), the VÖZ and the Verein der Chefredakteure (Editors' Association) reached a fundamental agreement. The Österreichische...

The Oberste Gerichtshof (Supreme Court - OGH) in Austria ruled in its recently published decision of January 2008 that a father was not responsible for copyright infringements committed by his daughter, a minor, through her file sharing activities. While the owner of the Internet connection was away on holiday his 17-year old daughter had uploaded 1,627 music files to a file sharing site. He had been unaware of the possible copyright problems linked to the use of file sharing systems and had never discussed these issues with his daughter. The court decided that the father was not liable. It accepted...

At the end of February, the Kommunikationsbehörde Austria (Austrian Communications Authority – KommAustria) granted the German company Media Broadcast GmbH a ten-year licence to operate a multiplex platform for mobile terrestrial broadcasting. Two applicants had been competing for the licence: Media Broadcast GmbH, which is owned by Télédiffusion de France, and Mobile TV Infrastruktur GmbH, which belongs to a group of Austrian publishers. KommAustria had to make the selection on the basis of six legal criteria that were set out in more detail in the MUX-Auswahlgrundsätzeverordnung 2007 (2007 Multiplex...

On 31 January 2008 the European Commission called on Austria, in accordance with Article 88(2) of the EC Treaty, to make its position clear on the funding of the Österreichischer Rundfunk (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation – ORF) (see IRIS 2005-9: 6). ORF is largely funded by the licence fees, the amount of which it is free to determine, which it receives from all viewers and listeners. With reference to its communication of 2001 concerning the application of the rules on state subsidies to public service broadcasting, the Commission is of the opinion that the funding might involve a prohibited...