Western sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine do not appear to be lifted anytime soon., so the Kremlin seems to be betting on implementing measures to cope with them. Thus, in the same way that we learned yesterday of a ministerial circular with instructions aimed at make Russian web servers self-sufficient, faced with the risk of an Internet disconnection by ICANN…
…now we know how Russia intends to adapt to the announced suspension of sales by some large software companies, such as Apple and Microsoft: legalizing the use of ‘pirated software’.
Last Friday, just as Microsoft announced the cessation of new sales of Windows, Office or Xbox in the Eurasian giant, Russian politicians began to debate the urgent approval of the abolition of criminal and administrative liability for using and distributing unauthorized copies of software from countries that have supported sanctions against Russia. That is, from all over the West.
An action plan that will also alter the legislation on copyright and patents
Thus, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, in its “Priority action plan to ensure the development of the Russian economy in conditions of pressure on external sanctions”deals with changes in patent and copyright policies as a reaction to the sanctions of NATO countries, and specifically (in its point 6.7.3), deals with the measures to be adopted before foreign companies that revoke software licenses or refuse to issue new ones.
The document would not legalize as suchif approved, the crime of “use of software without a license”, but yes I would set as exception that, in the case of affecting Western companies, such use will not prove to be punishable.
But experts warn that today this would not solve all the problems of Russia regarding softwaresince for some time the most widely used software developed by the affected companies has been sold using a cloud product subscription model (Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Suite, etc).
In any case, it is a temporary patch, while the market readjusts and other companies go on to fill the gap that others have left empty: since —according to the Russian media outlet Kommersant— the Kremlin’s goal is to “stimulate the transition to Russian software”.
However, it may not be the only type of unlicensed copying that becomes authorized in Russia. And it is that, according to what was also reported on Friday by the local newspaper Gazeta.ru, the politician Dmitry Ionin had proposed reopen the famous RuTracker torrent portal as a way of compensating for the Western veto on the premiere of new series and movies on Russian territory.
Депутат Госдумы Дмитрий Ионин предложил разблокировать RuTracker
Так как многие западные студии отказались от выпуска новых кинолент в России, парламентарий считает, что благодаря торрент-трекеру пользователи смогут увидеть голливудские фильмы. pic.twitter.com/muO1VitjTO
— Газета.Ru (@GazetaRu) March 3, 2022
RuTracker is currently “permanently blocked” by Russian ISPs for “recurrence of copyright infringement”. After that, some users reported being able to access the blocked website, but its current status remains unclear.
Via | TorrentFreak