News item | 04-02-2022 | 09:50
A settlement of 4.25 million euros has been reached between Telegraaf BV (De Telegraaf) and the State in connection with a long-running dispute about the implementation of the database guidelines in Dutch law. As a result, De Telegraaf has not been able to publish its own TV guide in the Saturday supplement of De Telegraaf since 1998. Minister Weerwind (Legal Protection) informed the House of Representatives about this today.
In mid-2013, De Telegraaf started proceedings against the State. In it, De Telegraaf states that the State has acted unlawfully by failing to properly implement and enforce the Database Directive. De Telegraaf holds the State liable for the damage caused by the inability to produce a program guide.
settlement
After the District Court of The Hague in 2015 and subsequently the Court of Appeal in The Hague had rejected De Telegraaf’s claims on the grounds of prescription, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal in The Hague in 2018 and referred the proceedings to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal for further treatment.
After the case was heard at the Amsterdam Court of Appeal at the end of 2020, the case was adjourned to give the parties the opportunity to investigate the possibility of a settlement. The State and De Telegraaf have jointly explored this.
The talks eventually led to an agreement recently being reached on a settlement amount of EUR 4.25 million to be paid by the State to De Telegraaf. The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability.