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On 13 April 2000, the 1st Chamber of the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that a satirical television programme did not breach copyright or competition law. The object of the satire was a television show in which contestants had to guess the prices of various articles. Whoever was closest to the actual price could win the article concerned. The show was sponsored by the manufacturer of an incontinence medicine, which the presenter helped to advertise in a commercial shown during the TV show. The satirical programme used original clips from the show, including the advertisement...

Approximately one year after the self-regulatory Code of Advertising and Sales Promotion was adopted by the Italian Committee of Advertising Practice (see IRIS 1999-6: 13), the Decreto legislativo Attuazione della direttiva 97/55/CE che modifica la direttiva 84/450/CEE, in materia di pubblicità ingannevole e comparativa (Statutory Instrument on Comparative and Misleading Advertising) of 25 February 2000 entered into force. With this decree Italy transposes Directive 97/55/EC, amending Directive 84/450/EEC concerning misleading advertising so as to include comparative advertising. Comparative advertising...

On 31 March, the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg District Court) confirmed that a (print) news magazine must pay damages to a bank following the broadcast of a television advertisement (see IRIS 1997-9: 6). In an advertisement for the latest edition of the magazine, the editor said, "Many people might lose their money". The report itself did not deal with the bank's financial situation, however, but questioned the reliability of its then chairman. Even the cover page of the magazine contained the headline, "Hamburg private bank in trouble: customers fear for their money". A few days after the magazine...

A recent decision by the Court of Appeal in Rennes confirms that the Internet is merely another vector of information subject to common law. The decision also helps to refine the definition and the limits of advertising on websites. In the case in question, a bank offered credit solutions on its site that were accompanied by examples of financing and a page of advertising for a credit card. A consumer association had the existence of these pages noted officially by a bailiff and called on the district court in Rennes to order their immediate removal on the grounds of violation of the Consumer Code....

The new bill, already sent to Parliament by the government in June last year, is now ready for the first reading in Parliament (probably in April) as the competent parliamentary committee (the Committee for Culture) has adopted the draft. The draft has been changed significantly since the government sent it to Parliament. In particular, certain powers of the Ministry of Culture have been abolished in the draft and were transferred to the Broadcasting Council as an independent regulatory authority. According to the revised draft, the Broadcasting Council's competencies will be increased significantly....