The United States has released a report criticizing Russia’s inability to curb intellectual property crimes. The report says that Russia hasn’t done enough to fight counterfeiters and pirates.
According to the report, film piracy in Russia is the most pressing issue — with piracy of books, music and other media coming up close behind. Russian copyright laws are designed for criminals and minors who are involved in infringements end up falling outside of the criminal justice system, Interfax reports.
With no clear fix, legislators are considering new approaches to clamp down on film piracy. In the State Duma, discussions are being held on whether to shift the focus of criminal investigations towards the end users illegally consuming content. The scope of potential new legislation has not yet been laid out.
But companies losing out on profits from copyright infringement want the government to take action.
Film distribution networks such as the Warner-affiliated Kapo network have said they are losing 15 - 30 percent in rates in income due to piracy.
