Piracy of Games, Movies, and More Reportedly Legal Now in Russia

A legal precedent has been set in Russia, which makes it easier for people to pirate content according to the country’s Supreme Court. This could spell disaster for creators who have come up with new and innovative ways of making their work available to consumers without paying exorbitant fees.

Image courtesy of Disney

What can a nation do when it is being hammered by sanctions and losing relationships with some of the world’s largest software firms? Copyright laws don’t seem to matter to them any more. Following a statement from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development earlier this week proposing to ease piracy rules, City A.M. reports that new laws have been drafted to enable Russian firms to avoid paying patent holders for the use of their intellectual property. “Wait, piracy was prohibited in Russia?” you may wonder if you visit torrent sites and other dark corners of the internet.

In reaction to Western sanctions, the Russian government is rolling down intellectual property rights (City A.M.)

According to local media sources, the Russian government declared this week that Russian enterprises are under no duty to compensate patent holders from countries that have sanctioned Russia for the use of their intellectual property.
According to the state-owned daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian government has practically legalized piracy by enacting new legislation allowing Russian companies to utilize breakthroughs from hostile nations without having to pay for the IP.
The claims come after Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development warned reporters last week that it was contemplating relaxing intellectual property regulations to offset sanctions and encourage Russian manufacturers to create particular items.

Piracy of games, movies, and other media is said to be legal in Russia (IGN)

When it comes to Hollywood films, it seems that Russians will be allowed to pirate them, with Russian lawmaker Dmitry Ionin even suggesting that the nation may unblock the torrenting suite RuTracker in order to assist Russians in pirating Hollywood films.
“Because many Western companies have refused to distribute new pictures in Russia,” adds Gazetta, “the legislator thinks that fans will be able to see Hollywood films due to the torrent tracker.”
[…] Games and hardware sales in Russia have been halted by Microsoft, Sony, and a slew of other gaming and entertainment businesses. The firms have responded to a request from Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, who requested “all game creators” to halt support in Russia and Belarus for the time being.