No rush for public viewing licenses so far

 
Contrary to expectations, the rush for licenses for the public screening of football matches during the 2008 European Championships has so far been limited. There are several possible reasons for the limited demand for the so-called public viewing licenses; a Uefa spokeswoman told 20minuten.ch that it is expected that this will increase as the European Championship draws closer. Suisa, which, like Uefa, sells licenses, also believes that the boom is yet to break out. Uefa has so far granted 50 licenses in Switzerland, while the copyright organization Suisa has been issuing "a maximum of five per day" since mid-January, according to a Suisa spokesperson. Both Uefa and Suisa sell public viewing licenses for the transmission of European Championship matches with a screen diagonal of more than three meters. And both insist that you have to buy a license from them, even though you only need one. The unintentional comedic confusion will probably not be resolved until the end of April by the Federal Arbitration Commission for the Exploitation of Copyrights. If you want to be on the safe side, you should apply for a license from both companies, according to 20minuten.ch.