27.12.2012 Views

iesy Repository GmbH - Irish Stock Exchange

iesy Repository GmbH - Irish Stock Exchange

iesy Repository GmbH - Irish Stock Exchange

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

<strong>iesy</strong> currently intends, depending on the outcome of the negotiations with MSG, to procure the digital platform services<br />

necessary for the distribution of the foreign-language and English language packages from MSG under the agreements<br />

currently being negotiated.<br />

KDG<br />

KDG licenses certain IT systems to <strong>iesy</strong> relating to network component tracking (SMILE-BK) and billing and customer<br />

care for <strong>iesy</strong>’s Level 4 subscriber base (Powerkabel). <strong>iesy</strong> plans to have the SMILE-BK system upgraded during 2005 under a<br />

new license agreement with KDG. In this respect, KDG and <strong>iesy</strong> entered into a letter of intent for the migration from SMILE-<br />

BK 1.5 to SMILE-BK 2.0 in April 2005. According to this letter of intent, the new agreement shall run until March 31, 2008.<br />

The Powerkabel system which <strong>iesy</strong> inherited from its acquisition of DeTeKS Hesse, will not be supported by KDG beyond<br />

December 31, 2005, and <strong>iesy</strong> intends to have integrated this functionality into its ICMS system by that time.<br />

CSG<br />

CSG provides maintenance services for our billing system software, CSG Integrated Customer Management System<br />

version 5.1 (“ICMS”). These services include: supply of patches and updates, provision of telephone support, telephone and<br />

email assistance, and provision of third party software upgrades.<br />

Competition<br />

The cable television and Internet services industries are competitive, and <strong>iesy</strong> faces significant competition from<br />

established and new competitors in these areas. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—We operate in<br />

competitive industries, and competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business” and “Industry-<br />

Competition.”<br />

Intellectual Property<br />

The operators of telecommunications cable networks are required under the German Copyright Act (Gesetz über<br />

Urheberrecht und verwandte Schutzrechte) to acquire rights for the retransmission of radio and television programs that<br />

include, among other things, literary, scientific or artistic work protected by copyright law. In case there is no agreement on<br />

the rights for the retransmission, the retransmission may be prohibited by an injunction. Claims for royalties can exclusively<br />

be asserted by the German collecting societies (Verwertungsgesellschaften) and not by the holders of copyrights or related<br />

rights themselves. As an exception, however, broadcasters have the choice to assert their rights individually or via a<br />

collecting society.<br />

GEMA, one of the German collecting societies, has been mandated by most of the relevant German collecting societies<br />

to collect royalties from the telecommunications cable network operators. The large German private broadcasters, however,<br />

mandated VG Media to assert their royalty claims based on their cable re-transmission rights. The amount of the royalties due<br />

is not determined in the Copyright Act.<br />

On November 21, 1991, the legal predecessor of DTAG concluded agreements with the German public broadcasters,<br />

the German private broadcasters, certain foreign broadcasters and GEMA (acting both on its own behalf and on behalf of<br />

other relevant German collecting societies). These agreements governed the collection by GEMA of royalties for, among<br />

other things, literary, scientific or artistic works protected by copyright law that were included in radio and television<br />

programs re-transmitted through the telecommunications cable networks that are today operated by the regional cable<br />

companies. In 2000, a dispute over the amount of royalties to be paid to GEMA and to the German private broadcasters<br />

arose, and the existing agreements were terminated with effect from December 31, 2002. The parties involved entered into<br />

lengthy negotiations leading to the following settlements:<br />

The Level 3 operators, the German public broadcasters, a number of small private German radio and television<br />

companies, certain foreign broadcasters and GEMA (acting both on its own behalf and on behalf of these private and foreign<br />

broadcasters and the other relevant German collecting societies except for VG Media) agreed to amend and reinstate the<br />

agreements that had previously been terminated with effect of January 1, 2003. The new agreements cover analog and digital<br />

transmission and will remain in force until December 31, 2006.<br />

ish, the other Level 3 operators and VG Media entered into an agreement regarding the acquisition of rights for the retransmission<br />

of radio and television programs that include, among other things, literary, scientific or artistic work protected<br />

by copyright law, through the telecommunications cable networks of the regional cable companies. This agreement came into<br />

force on January 1, 2003 and may be terminated by each party on December 31, 2005, at the earliest. On March 22, 2005, as<br />

166

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!