Dekuzu Posts

Digital technologies, widespread broadband connections and reliance on the internet in daily life have transformed the way creative content is produced, distributed and used. The internet has become a key distribution channel. Business models unheard of only 15 years ago and new economic players like online platforms have become well established and today online services are a mainstream channel for consumers to enjoy creative content, alongside physical formats like books and DVDs. Making copies of content digitally is easy and quick. People often expect access to digital content on multiple devices, anytime and anywhere in the single market. When this does not happen, they find it hard to understand why. EU copyright rules need to be adapted so that all market players and citizens can seize the opportunities of this new environment. A more European framework is needed to overcome fragmentation and frictions within a functioning single market. Copyright rewards creativity and investment in creative content. A copyright framework that offers a high level of protection is the basis of the global competitiveness of Europe’s creative industries. Along with the internal market principles of free movement of goods and services, EU competition rules, and our media and cultural policies, copyright is an integral part of the set of rules which govern the circulation of creative content across the EU. The interaction between copyright and these other policy areas determines how value is generated from the production and dissemination of works and how it is shared among market participants.

“With the same success you can equate a news-stall to mass media”, – believe in Russian ministry of communication (MinCom). Mincom does not uphold draft law. “We didn’t see this draft, we did not receive it officially, and we don’t like this idea. We believe, if you carry this to its logical conclusion, with the same success you can equate a news-stall to mass media. We can see covers of newspapers and magazines and can read news headings. Why it is not news aggregator?” – stated Volin. He also mentioned authors of draft law have not consulted with MinCom. Roskomnadzor, subordinate authority to MinCom, is stated in draft law as control authority, but it also has not received draft law and lawmakers have not consulted with it.

Copyright (official)

Across the EU, as in most world jurisdictions, certain uses of copyright protected works take place on the basis of exemptions and limitations to copyright, which are contemplated in law in response to the inability of the licencing markets to deliver contractual solutions (market failure) or to support public policy objectives. In these cases, a defined group of users does not have to ask for the authorisation of right holders and enter into licencing agreements to carry out certain activities (for example, cultural heritage institutions making copies for preservation purposes). In some cases, exceptions are linked to the existence of licensing schemes, in the sense that if a license agreement is in place, certain exceptions might not apply. Given the current framework in the EU, the existence and scope of exceptions to copyright varies in different Member States. Whilst this can have a little relevance for the DSM in certain cases (e.g. exceptions for broadcasting in hospitals and prisons), differences in the way Member States implement exceptions can be problematic for activities where the cross-border aspects or the European significance of a certain activity is relevant and growing in importance, for instance in the area of education and research (for example a recent study identified 253 cross-border higher education programmes operating in the EU).

As reported Izvestia, administration of Rutracker.org wants to buy domain Rutracker.ru. Both parties already confirmed launching of negotiations. For Rutracker.org domain blocking is not so important. It seems it is like romantic for them. “For us it is more important that users can visit phishing sites by mistake” – said representative of Rutracker.org. Rutracker.org is also right holder. Company, operating web-site, Dreamtorrents has registered two trademarks – RuTracker and RuTrackerorg.

In July 2015, the UK Government consulted on proposed changes to the maximum term for online copyright infringement, increasing it from two to ten years to make consistent with the penalty for physical copyright infringements. This document summarises the responses received. The consultation asked one question: Should the maximum custodial sentence available for online and offline copyright infringement of equal seriousness be harmonised at 10 years?

New draft law proposes some interesting changes in Russian copyright law. First of all, it proposes to abolish private copying levy. Article 1245 of Russian civil code, providing remuneration for free reproduction of phonograms and audiovisual works only for private purposes, is to be repealed. As a consequence draft law also proposes abolishment of accreditation for collecting society which is to be authorised to collect private copying levy. Item 4 of Article 1244, providing state accreditation or in other words exclusive authority for collecting society to collect private copying levy in Russia, is to be repealed. But all other accreditations for public performance right in musical works and sound recordings survive.

“We fill in legal vacuum. It is not about mass media. Their activity is already regulated enough.” – said Alexey Kazakov, one of the draft law authors. He believes news aggregators must handle information very responsibly: whether republish trustworthy mass media, which verify information, or bear responsibility if they publish information without its verification. “Aggregators have more influence than mass media. But we don’t want to make unbearable conditions for them (but, in fact, draft law makes it) therefore we grant only to relevant authorities, but not to citizens, the right to submit a claim to Roskomnadzor.” – said Kazakov. He also admits Russian market can lose resources with foreign participation (where foreign participation in companies share is more than 20%). “There are ideological manipulations, and we must control them and minimise foreign influence.” – underlined Kazakov.

First of all, it was decided to give definition of news aggregator. If you have software for computer or you are owner of web-site or/and one single web-page in Internet, which are used for processing and dissemination of news information in state language of Russian Federation, state languages of subjects of Russian Federation or other languages of people of Russian Federation, and if on such page or web-site can be placed advertisement in order to attract customer’s attention, residing in Russian territory and if daily quantity of visitors is more than one million Internet-users – you are news aggregator under draft law.

Right holders did not wait with reaction. They are going to complain to Russian president about his counselor on internet for “greedy ghouls” and his refusal to bring apologises – said CEO of group of companies “Prior” Rodion Pavluchik. “I’m also ghoul, therefore I’m on their side. How you can maintain conversation with boors? It seems it is not possible to handle it otherwise. We will address to president. I believe such counselors discredit our president, they don’t converse with industry, insult people, calling them ghouls and at the same time protecting blunt theft. We will insist on his fallacy in this issue.” – said Pavluchik.

He did not even read this open letter published by major Russian right holders. German Klimenko one more time confirmed he is not going to deny his own words “greedy ghouls” in relation to right holders. He assumed that right holders, who requested him to apologise, can be those who lobbied the law about permanent blocking of domain Rutracker.org. But there is one detail. Permanent blocking is a result of law implementation; the law was not adopted to specially block Rutraker.org and perhaps right holders can consider opportunity to block domain affiliated with German Klimenko. Perhaps Russian president’s counselor also concerns about?