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In May the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice tabled two draft bills to transpose Directive 96/9/EC of 11 March 1996 concerning the legal protection of databases, into Austrian law. One of the Bills proposes a Federal Act to amend the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz-Novelle 1997 - Copyright Amendment Act); the other concerns the law applicable to databases (Datenbankrechtsgesetz -Database Protection Act). Both drafts carry extensive explanatory memorandums. The drafts are open to comment until 14 July 1997 under the "expert opinion procedure". The drafts (if necessary in a revised form) will...

Private radio On 20 March 1997, the National Assembly passed an Act amending the Regional Radio Act and leaving the way clear for the licensing of private radio stations to resume. First plans for the licensing of private radio came to nothing in 1995, when the Constitutional Court set aside Section 2 of the Regional Radio Act, regulating service areas and frequencies. At present, only the private stations licensed for Salzburg and Steiermark may broadcast. The amending Act accordingly set out to adjust the licensing plan, determining the number of regional and local stations to be licensed and...

At the end of March 1997, the Austrian Economic Crimes Squad seized all the hardware and software belonging to an Internet service provider. Four hundred firms, connected to this server, were hit by the seizure. A court had ordered the search because there was reason to suspect that material containing child pornography had been disseminated by the server. The server itself is not under suspicion. The seizure was ordered solely for the purpose of collecting evidence. Proceedings against persons unknown for the dissemination of child pornography are at present pending in the Vienna Regional Court....

On 08.10.1996 the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) repealed the previous total ban on advertising for cable television companies, based on Section 24, paragraph 2 of the Broadcasting Regulation. The judgment enables cable operators in Austria - some 270 in all - to accept advertising slots in their programmes from now on. The corresponding conditions were repealed by the VfGH on the grounds of being contrary to the Constitution, as the total ban on advertising constituted an extremely serious infringement of the freedom of expression of opinion and the freedom to exercise an economic activity....

IRIS 1996-9 contained a report on a draft Amendment Bill of 12.9.96 amending Austria's Regional Radio Act. Since 20.11.96 this has become a Government Bill for a Federal Act of Parliament amending the Regional Radio Act. The National Council will vote on the Bill, and therefore on amendments to the Regional Radio Act. The content of the Government Bill differs from the draft Amendment Bill in insignificant detail.