New Russian copyright law raises freedom of expression concerns
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Deutsch: [ Russland: Neues Copyright-Gesetz lässt Bedenken bezüglich Redefreiheit aufkommen | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_11.16_Russland_Neues_Copyright-Gesetz_laesst_Bedenken_bezueglich_Redefreiheit_aufkommen?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20130828 ]
New legislation on online copyright, amending several legislative acts
of the Russian Federation on the protection of intellectual property
rights in information and telecommunication networks, came into force on
1 August 2013.
For the time being, the law applies to “exclusive film rights, including
movies and TV shows, in information and telecommunications networks,
including the Internet” but it is expected to extend, in time, to other
types of online content.
Amongst other things, the law rules on the liability of internet service
providers, introducing the statutory definition of “information
intermediary”.
During the adoption of the new law, the Russian Association of
Electronic Communications issued a position with a proposal for
amendment of the draft law where it expressed concerns related to
additional financial and administrative burdens that the new provisions
would impose on internet service providers, to a possible imbalance of
legal interests of right holders and content distributors, the potential
risk of abuse of pre-trial measures and the disruption of the market
for digital content due to blocking of IP addresses.
Yandex, the company operating Russia’s leading internet search engine,
considered that the proposed access limitation was detrimental for
internet users and website owners, but for the right holders as well.
“The chosen method of regulation is aimed to fight not against pirates,
but the internet as such, which is almost the same as blocking a
highway, on which one accident happened,” said the statement.
Article 19 made an analysis of the respective law, examining its
compliance with international standards on freedom of expression. In its
analysis, the organisation expresses serious concerns regarding the way
in which the procedures to provide safeguards for freedom of expression
will be applied, considering that the implementation of the court orders
falls under the jurisdiction of a government body rather than the courts
or independent adjudicatory bodies.
“In order for an interim blocking order to be made, the courts are only
required to take into account the evidence submitted by copyright
holders. There is no corresponding requirement to consider the impact
that blocking orders may have on freedom of expression.”
Furthermore, Article 19 believes that the new intermediary liability
provisions fail to establish clear rules in this area, by adopting
notice-and-takedown rules that are unclear, unnecessary and inadequate
from the standpoint of the international standards on freedom of expression.
“The Law fails to specify the precise measures that may be ordered by
the courts. For instance, there is nothing in the law to prevent a court
from ordering a wholesale (and therefore disproportionate) ban on access
to domain names contrary to international standards on freedom of
expression.”
Russia: Federal law on amendments of several acts on the protection of
intellectual property rights in information and telecommunication
networks – executive summary (14.08.2013)
http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37202/en/russia:-federal-law-on-amendments-of-several-acts-on-the-protection-of-intellectual-property-rights-in-information-and-telecommunication-networks
Russia: Federal law on amendments of several acts on the protection of
intellectual property rights in information and telecommunication
networks – Legal analysis (14.08.2013)
http://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/37202/Russia%E2%80%99s-new-legislation-on-online-copyright-enforcement-.pdf
Russia Adopts Measures Against Online Video Piracy (24.07.2013)
http://www.ip-watch.org/2013/07/24/russia-adopts-measures-against-online-video-piracy/