COLUMN: Give and Take
This year, too, the legislature has blessed us with a savings package that was put together just before Christmas, rather than before the elections, due to a political consensus that is otherwise rare. The state is making it easy for us to enjoy the Christmas holidays happily, as we can look forward to being able to give a lot more from next year, while at the same time taking a lot less. That's great, it makes us happy and the budget healthy. The following innovations are expected in the area of the rule of law in 2011:
COLUMN: Plagiarism
...are – if you believe Theodor Fontane – the most sincere of all compliments. What the 19th-century writer viewed so mildly is viewed more nuancedly in the modern business world. The deliberate appropriation of another's intellectual property (the broadest definition of plagiarism) is prevented by several legal sources. The best known are patent and design law (the "minor patent"), but also trademark law. The latter grants unlimited protection. This special protection system provides amortization protection (by protecting inventions for a limited period of time), but not investment protection (since after the expiration of the protection period, anyone can copy a patented product).
COLUMN: “Whoever steals my good name …”
Keyword advertising is on the rise - as the economic success of Google proves. This form of advertising consists of booking certain search terms ("keywords") on search engines, with the effect that when users enter this search term, they are presented with not only organic search results, but also paid advertisements. Selecting suitable keywords is quite difficult - what could be more obvious than using a well-known competitor's brand or the name of a competitor?
COLUMN: Roulette game before the ECJ
Criminal proceedings before a district court for illegal gambling could have a significant impact on the future awarding of casino concessions under the Austrian Gambling Act. Currently, all twelve casino concessions, which are classified as service concessions under procurement law and therefore only have to comply with a diluted tendering regime, are held by Casinos Austria AG. The concessions for Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Bregenz expire in 2012.
COLUMN: Muzzle and leash
According to a recent government proposal, media activity will likely be subject to significantly tighter legal constraints starting in 2010 than it currently is. In particular—and in the most inappropriate case imaginable—following Amstetten, the current Minister of Justice has pledged to significantly strengthen media law protection for victims of criminal offenses in the future. However, this can only be implemented at the expense of media and information freedom. As things currently stand, compensation amounts are to be increased (in some cases) fivefold to €100,000.00, and relatives and witnesses of criminal offenses are also to enjoy expanded identity protection.
COLUMN: Catch the thief…
In a recent decision of July 14, 2009 (4 Ob 41/09x), the Supreme Court made a very interesting statement: A mere "access provider" is not obliged to disclose to whom a so-called "dynamic" IP address was assigned at a certain point in time. This is not the case even if it is clear that the user was involved in copyright infringements.
THE PRESS: Freedom of speech – politicians can be “assholes with ears”
Supreme Court contradicts lower courts: A caricature is permissible under certain circumstances. Background: A dispute over a Strache caricature in “Österreich”.
Vienna. The 2008 National Council elections are over, but a controversial case from the election campaign two years ago has only just been put on the agenda of the Supreme Court (OGH). Its basic statement: It could be permissible to associate FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache with an "ass with ears".