Media outlets are reporting that Russia may have passed legislation that legalises accessing Intellectual Property without paying for it. If true, this would mean that the Kremlin has effectively legalised piracy of movies, tv shows, games and other such copyrighted work.
Although these reports cite Russian-backed newspaper ‘Rossiyskaya Gazeta’ as source, with limited information from independent sources flowing out of Russia, any such news is not verified with certainty. These reports could also be politically motivated driving an agenda set by the western media and may be false.
Earlier this week, it was being reported that Russia was considering changing its stance on antipiracy laws in response to heavy sanctions from western governments and production houses. Torrentfreak.com shared a document titled ‘Priority Action Plan for Ensuring the Development of the Russian Economy in the Conditions of External Sanctions Pressure’ which laid out measures under consideration by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia. Amongst other measures, an item listed under point 6.7.3 stated that usage of unlicensed software owned by a copyright holder from countries that have supported the sanctions will not result in any penalty. However, what is not known or confirmed is if these measures were passed.
Media giants such as Sony, Walt Disney and Netflix have pulled out of Russia amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. Dmitry Lonin, a representative of the Russian assembly, had tweeted that he had proposed to unblock Rutracker, Russia’s largest torrent tracker, to enable people to watch pirated versions of Hollywood movies. Since then, many users of social media have reported the RuTracker has been unblocked. Russia had banned the site in 2016 to counter piracy efforts.
Although users across the world on the internet manage to circumvent such bans, even consideration of allowing it officially and encouraging piracy sets a dangerous precedent. Such a move cannot be justified under any circumstances. Content piracy is a worldwide issue which persists despite efforts from authorities to crack down. It leads to lost revenue for studios eventually leading to job losses and economic losses for the industry. Conservative estimates suggest that piracy may be leading to losses of at least 10% in box office revenues and digital sales. A 2014 peer-reviewed study at Carnegie Mellon found that piracy prior to release leads to 19% additional box office losses relative to post-release piracy. All of this eventually leads to lower compensation for artists.
As cinephiles and in the interest of the larger good, we hope that any such news is not true.