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In the printed media sector there is already a duty to supply and an obligation to deliver: under §43 of the Austrian Media Act ( Mediengesetz - MedG), media owners (publishers) who publish printed matter in Austria or who produce material which is published abroad are obliged by law to offer or deliver immediately a prescribed number of copies to particular libraries. The number of copies sent should not exceed seven, or twelve in the case of periodicals. Reimbursement (at half the retail price) is only made if the retail price is higher than ATS 1,600 (in future: ATS 2.000) (§44 MedG). Infringements...

In late 1998, the Constitutional Court had stated its startling conclusions regarding the (always contested) «advertising tax» levied by the city of Vienna. The relevant legal provisions state that «a tax is to be paid to the city of Vienna for advertisements within the boundaries of the city of Vienna. [...] Advertisements [...] also include any external advertisements by broadcasters (radio and television) which originate from studios located in the city of Vienna». The Vienna advertising tax amounts to 10 % of the net revenues from commercial advertisements. The starting point was an attempt...

Austria is playing an increasingly prominent role in the protection of children in the European Union. Following the amendment of the "Television Without Frontiers" Directive, which led to the introduction on 1 January 1999 of visual identification of programmes considered unsuitable for young persons (see IRIS 1999-1:9), a symposium on the theme "Violence in the Media" was held on 10 March 1999. The symposium, attended by experts from Austria and abroad, was organized by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ( ORF), the Federal Ministry of Environment, and Youth and Family. It was divided into...

At the end of January 1999, after a partial decision had been given by the court of first instance (see IRIS 1998-4:7) and an appeal upheld, the Austrian Supreme Court ( Oberste Gerichtshof OGH) brought to an end the test case between a private broadcaster and a performing rights collecting society. The complainant ( RADIO MELODY Gesellschaft mbH Radio Melody) holds a licence to broadcast a regional radio station under the terms of the Regional Radio Act ( Regionalradiogesetz). The defendant (AUSTRO-MECHANA Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung mechanisch-musikalischer Urherberrechte Gesellschaft mbH Austro-Mechana)...

On 1 January 1999 the Act amending the Regional Radio Act came into force, bringing various changes to private radio, which is still a recent phenomenon in Austria. Private radio broadcasting licences were awarded for the first time in 1993, but only after a long gap, due to a decision of the Constitutional Court, were more than 50 licences for regional and local radio awarded at the beginning of 1998. The regulations contained in the Regional Radio Act ( Regionalradiogesetz - RRG) are specifically restricted, in accordance with Section 1 (1), to the broadcasting of regional and local radio programmes...