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On 7 February 2012, in Smash Communications Limited v. Broadcasting Authority et al, decided by the Civil Court, First Hall, the Court concluded that the present system established in the Broadcasting Act regulating the imposition of administrative sanctions by the Broadcasting Authority was in breach of the principle of natural justice nemo iudex in causa propria (no person may be a judge in his/her own cause; see IRIS 2012-5/33). The defendants (the Broadcasting Authority and its Chief Executive) appealed this decision and on 24 June 2016 the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment. The defendants...

The Irish Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the Internet service provider (ISP) UPC Communications Ireland Ltd (UPC) concerning the jurisdiction of the High Court to grant graduated response system (GRS) injunctions to support the enforcement by music companies of copyright infringements against ISPs subscribers. The term “GRS” refers to “types of steps which an ISP may be required to take against copyright infringers, ranging from warning letters at one [end] of the spectrum to orders blocking access to particular websites at the other”. The case originated in 2014 when music companies,...

On 21 April 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgment in Austro-Mechana v. Amazon EU and Others (Case C-572/14), concerning the jurisdiction of Austrian courts to hear legal proceedings where an Austrian copyright-collecting society seeks to obtain payment from Amazon EU for a recording device levy under Austrian copyright law (see IRIS 2013-9/3 for a related judgment). Under paragraph 42b of the Austrian copyright law (Urheberrechtgesetz - UrhG), persons who are “first to place” certain recording equipment on the market, are required to pay “fair remuneration”...

On 25 May 2016 the European Commission published a proposal to amend the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). As the Commission noted in its press release, the aim of the proposal is: “to achieve a better balance of the rules which today apply to traditional broadcasters, video-on-demand providers and video-sharing platforms, especially when it comes to protecting children. The revised AVMSD also strengthens the promotion of European cultural diversity, ensures the independence of audiovisual regulators and gives more flexibility to broadcasters over advertising”. The main changes pertain...

On 1 March 2016 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found Sweden in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) because it had denied access to court to a person who wanted to bring defamation proceedings in Sweden arising out of the content of a trans-border television programme service (TV3), suggesting that they resort to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. The European Court is of the opinion that requiring a Swedish national to bring defamation proceedings in the UK courts following an alleged defamatory TV programme broadcasted by the London-based company Viasat Broadcasting...