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Russia has implemented a wide variety of anti-piracy laws and procedures in recent years. Thousands of copyright-infringing sites have been blocked and even app stores and search engines need to take action. However, according to the IIPA, which includes the MPA, the RIAA and other groups in the entertainment industry, Russia should do more.
In recent years, Russia has introduced various anti-piracy laws and regulations.
Pirate sites can be blocked by court orders, app stores must take strict measures against 'pirated' apps, search engines must quickly block pirated sites and even VPN services and proxies can be banned.
The measures go far beyond what we see in most other countries, but according to US copyright holders, they still don't go far enough. Online piracy and video recording in Russian cinemas remain a major problem.
Copyright groups call for Russia
IIPA, which has copyright groups including MPA, RIAA and ESA among its members, shared these and other concerns with the US Trade Representative as part of the annual review of World Organization obligations. of Trade (WTO) of Russia.
The presentation highlights the progress that was made on the legislative front. New laws and procedures have made it difficult for Russians to use pirated apps or sites. However, these measures have done little to stop the sites themselves, which often remain accessible abroad.
"Unfortunately, US rights holders continue to report that these proceedings are directed against infringing activity by only users within Russia and are not being used against Russian sites and services serving users outside the country," IIPA writes.
"Even the most effective removal procedures and processes for disabling access to websites can only slow down piracy activities and have a short-lasting deterrent effect without civil, and especially criminal prosecution, targeting commercial site owners and operators. ".
Criminal prosecution
IIPA calls for significant copyright enforcement improvements to address Russian pirate sites and services. In addition to blocking platforms at the ISP level, authorities must criminally prosecute their operators.
The group provides several examples of sites that purportedly operate from Russia. Several of these also appear on the USTR's annual list of notorious foreign markets.
The film industry highlights the St. Petersburg-based live streaming site seasonvar.ru, which lists more than 17,000 TV series on the site. In addition, the largest social network in Russia, VK.com, is also mentioned.
The software industry notes that Russia is home to the most game pirates of any country in the world, at least on P2P services. He mentions torrentdownloads.me, dirtywarez.com, and romtohome.com among the worst offenders.
Music companies also see major piracy problems dating back to Russia. This includes torrent sites, link sites, and cyberlockers. Russia-based streamrippers Flvto.biz and 2Conv.com - who were sued in the U.S. - are specifically called.
Finally, the publishing industry points to Libgen and Sci-Hub as trouble spots. The latter was targeted in two American lawsuits But, despite two injunctions against the site, Sci-Hub remains freely accessible in most countries around the world.
"In short, a much more effective enforcement against online piracy is needed in Russia, particularly long-identified pirate sites," IIPA notes.
Videotape pirates
In addition to criminal prosecutions against pirated sites and services, the IIPA would also like to see tougher action against piracy of "camera footage." Every year dozens of pirated movies go back to Russia.
"Russia continues to be home to some of the world's most prolific motion picture criminal groups," IIPA notes, adding that in the past five years 253 films by MPA members were pirated from Russian cinemas.
These movies eventually end up online, often with Mark of gambling companies, who seem to see these launches as a great place to advertise.
"Many of the launch groups are connected to online gambling companies that pay for the recording of films in theaters in exchange for the inclusion of advertising of their services within the infringing copies."
IIPA hopes the USTR will put these concerns on the diplomatic agenda. That said, it would not be a surprise if Russia points the finger. back in the U.S., which is still the main source of traffic for pirate sites.
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A copy of IIPA's response to the USTR's request for comments on Russia's implementation of its WTO commitments is included. available here (pdf)
