You can’t call it even more of a roller-coaster ride. What have experienced, the staff of the Institute for broadcasting technology (IRT) in Munich since may of 2017, appears in retrospect as a free fall. Even now, since the resolution of the institution is a done deal, after the ZDF, adopted last December, as the first shareholder, and the remaining three of the ten carriers (the broadcasters of the ARD, Deutschlandradio, Deutsche Welle, ORF, SRG) were not a “sustainable model for a continuation of the” some, are still many open questions.
Axel Weidemann
editor in the features section.
F. A. Z.
All such, says Thomas Schierbaum, head of the IRT public Relations, and, since the nineties at the Institute, of radio and television enterprises and institutions around the world, which could rely on until recently, in terms of development of uniform technical Standards on the Expertise of the inventors of the IRT, but soon into the Empty view. After more than sixty years in the service of the development of broadcasting, the Institute, headquartered on the grounds of the Bavarian radio (BR) in Munich-Freimann to 31 to. December will be liquidated. Also the costs. “We believed until the end that it all goes well,” says Schierbaum.
From “corrupt breach of trust” was the speech
The Echo at the end of this prestigious Institute is comparatively restrained. The Bavarian state Chancellery shall inform on request: “The loss of this research and development facility is unfortunate. The free state has used up to the end for a continuation of the Institute for broadcasting technology. The IRT was home to many bright minds and has developed ground-breaking technologies for our strong media landscape. Unfortunately, it is not the shareholders, to achieve consensus on a future-oriented restructuring of the Institute.“ This is the official reading. Unofficially, it is said, was angered at the state Chancellery about the loss of the Institute pretty.
In the headlines and the Public consciousness, the technology forge was in may 2017, as the BR made public, that a from the IRT hired a patent attorney, the proceeds of Mpeg Audio patents have been farming at the Institute over in the own pocket. Of a “corrupt breach of trust” was the speech.
It’s going to be about two hundred million euros, one of the largest financial scandals in German broadcasting history. The dispute dragged on for several court processes, even in Italy, because it was suspected that the lawyer had made common cause with the Italian patent company Sisvel. The Italians saw their reputation damaged, and complained in turn. Up to five procedures in Mannheim, Munich and Turin were for a time. In one of the processes, before the regional court of Mannheim, called the IRT, the payment of proceeds from the Mpeg Audio patents. The lawsuit was thrown out, also, because in the course of the processes came out that fraud is not the speech could be; you should, instead, rivers IRT of the Money can be aware of and. In Mannheim, the judge asked: “Why is the management of the applicant (IRT) has been so passive?” (F. A. Z. of 20. March 2019). Hit the for the IRT in the legal side of things leading BR does not want to give however, you want to go in appeal. Also in Turin, the process is not yet finished. To date, the costly litigation has made the IRT a little more than a quarter of the required sum of Sixty million euros, paid as a result of an agreement with the Munich-based patent attorney. This seems not to be enough, especially Miterfindern of the Audio patent in the IRT who want to see millions of bruised and legal fight. The Institute and the Bavarian radio under pressure.
