IRIS Plus
For each chosen topic, this new publication looks into:
- the economic and technological backdrop
- the international and European regulatory framework
- the national implementation of these provisions
- self- and co-regulation
- case-law
- recent trends.
The former version of the IRIS Plus series (until 2014) was a paid-for publication that featured a combination of a lead article, related reporting and a Zoom section, comprising overview tables, market data or practical information.
- All published issues are available for free in PDF format (see below).
- Print versions for publications prior to 2022, may be purchased from the Council of Europe online shop.
IRIS Plus 2013-4: What Is an On-demand Service?
Few songwriters have captured the presentiment of change as Bob Dylan in his song "The Times They Are A-Changin'". Although written in a very particular period of the twentieth Century, its message is universal and therefore can be applied to virtually any moment in time. Indeed, the fight...
IRIS Plus 2013-3: Converged Media: Same Content, Different Laws?
Convergence is no longer a future vision but can be experienced in the here and now. At least, this is true for those among us who possess a smart TV and manage to use its full technical potential. At the same time, media professionals never tire of pointing to the fact (and to supporting...
IRIS Plus 2013-2: Open Journalism
Publish and be damned? The Duke of Wellington's famous phrase could be used to describe the challenges for regulators dealing with the complex legal issues surrounding open journalism. In the age of Internet and the smart phone, we are ALL potentially journalists capable of generating copy, sound...
IRIS Plus 2013-1: The Digital Switchover
The European Commission's report on the telecommunications market and regulatory development (see also IRIS 2012-9/8) describes, among other things, the current status of the introduction of digital television in the EU member states. According to section 5.3.2 of the report, at the time of...
IRIS Plus 2012-6: Protection of Minors and Audiovisual Content On-Demand
On-demand services with audiovisual content are continuing to be more and more popular among users. One of the world's best known platforms is no doubt YouTube, which, according to Matthew Glotzbach, the company's EMEA Managing Director, currently has 800 million users a month who upload 72 hours...
IRIS Plus 2012-5: Must-carry: Renaissance or Reformation?
On 11 July 2012, the Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per il Lazio, an Italian administrative court in Rome decided on a case involving the Italian public service broadcaster RAI (TAR Lazio Decision n. 6320). It found RAI guilty of having violated its charter by encrypting its free-to-air TV...
IRIS Plus 2012-4: Exclusive Rights and Short Reporting
2012 is often called a year of sports as both the Euro 2012 football championships and the Olympic Games will be held. Of course, there will be or have been world championships in other sports, such as the biathlon, ski flying, figure skating, indoor athletics, table tennis, windsurfing,...
IRIS Plus 2012-3: The Future of State Aid
As every year, May 2012 will see an edition of the Cannes Film Festival along with a new Golden Palm winner. Less in the news but more important for the industry will be the Cannes Film Market, which takes place in parallel. It will allow over 10,000 film industry professionals from over 100...
IRIS Plus 2012-2: The Lifespan for Copyright of Audiovisual Works
Intellectual property rights are one of the tools, if not the tool for rewarding and stimulating creativity. They are attached to many assets which form part of our cultural heritage but which cannot be tagged physically as personal property, as could be, for example, paintings or sculptures....
IRIS Plus 2012-1: Answers to Internet Piracy
Internet piracy is a curse to rightsholders and anyone interested in the viability of the creative industry. The latter includes not only governments and representatives of the au- diovisual sector but also consumers who like to enjoy a rich offer of audiovisual content but who might have to cope...
