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posted by janrinok on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-yours-is-now-mine dept.

Russia mulls legalizing software piracy as it's cut off from Western tech:

With sanctions against Russia starting to bite, the Kremlin is mulling ways to keep businesses and the government running. The latest is a creative twist on state asset seizures, only instead of the government taking over an oil refinery, for example, Russia is considering legalizing software piracy.

Russian law already allows for the government to authorize—"without consent of the patent holder"—the use of any intellectual property "in case of emergency related to ensuring the defense and security of the state." The government hasn't taken that step yet, but it may soon, according to a report from Russian business newspaper Kommersant, spotted and translated by Kyle Mitchell, an attorney who specializes in technology law. It's yet another sign of a Cyber Curtain that's increasingly separating Russia from the West.

The plan would create "a compulsory licensing mechanism for software, databases, and technology for integrated microcircuits," the Kommersant said. It would only apply to companies from countries that have imposed sanctions. While the article doesn't name names, many large Western firms—some of which would be likely targets—have drastically scaled back business in Russia. So far, Microsoft has suspended sales of new products and services in Russia, Apple has stopped selling devices, and Samsung has stopped selling both devices and chips.

Presumably, any move by the Kremlin to "seize" IP would exempt Chinese companies, which are reportedly considering how to press their advantage. Smartphone-makers Xiaomi and Honor stand to gain, as do Chinese automakers. Still, any gains aren't guaranteed since doing business in Russia has become riddled with problems, spanning everything from logistics to finance.

Also at TorrentFreak.


Original Submission

Related Stories

UK Sanctions Russian Microprocessor Makers, Banning Them From ARM 38 comments

UK sanctions Russian microprocessor makers, banning them from ARM:

The UK government added 63 Russian entities to its sanction list on Wednesday [04 May]. Among them are Baikal Electronics and MCST (Moscow Center of SPARC Technologies), the two most important chip makers in Russia.

The two sanctioned entities will now be denied access to the ARM architecture since Arm Ltd., the licensee, is based in Cambridge, England, and will have to comply with the sanctions.

[...] The two firms are considered vital for Russia's technological independence efforts, as they are expected to step up and cover the shortages created by the lack of processors made by Western chip-makers such as Intel and AMD.

[...] While these processors [the most advanced processors Baikai and MCST currently supply], and the much worse mid-tier and low-tier chips that carry the Baikal and MCST sticker, don't feature impressive performance, they could keep some vital parts of the Russian IT section going during shortages.

U.S. Copyright Groups Are Concerned About Russia’s Handling of Online Piracy 41 comments

U.S. Copyright Groups Are Concerned About Russia's Handling of Online Piracy

With its invasion of Ukraine, Russia ignited a regional conflict with global repercussions. Thousands of lives have been lost and many more ruined. In response, many U.S. entertainment industry companies took a stand by ceasing their Russian operations. Through the IIPA, many of the same companies now want to urge Russia to keep online piracy in check.

[...] As we have documented previously, more than a hundred Russian movie theaters have started to show pirated movies in Russia in response to the sanctions. While clearly illegal, the chairman of the Russian Association of Cinema has sympathy for the plight of these struggling theater owners.

The Russian Government has also made matters worse for US copyright holders. A few months ago, it proposed a 'forced licensing' bill that would effectively legalize piracy of media produced by "unfriendly" states, including the US.

These developments are causing concern among organizations such as the IIPA, which counts the MPA, RIAA, and ESA among its members. The group recently shared its thoughts with the US Trade Representative for its annual review of Russia's World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.

[...] "The harm caused by commercial-scale piracy in Russia cannot be adequately addressed with civil measures alone; rather, enhanced administrative actions and penalties and criminal remedies are needed," IIPA writes.

When push comes to shove, copyright infringement just doesn't matter.

IIPA = International Intellectual Property Alliance. Letter to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (PDF).

Previously: Russia Mulls Legalizing Software Piracy as It's Cut Off From Western Tech


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:45PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:45PM (#1228013)

    maybe they can release fixed versions of microsoft 's crap?

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:30PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:30PM (#1228053)

      Judging by the way the invasion is going, they already have PowerPoint.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:00PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:00PM (#1228059)

      Somehow, I see a special Win 10/11 update just for Russia...which works normally at first, and then later displays a "F*** Putin" splash screen, as it bricks the computer. Maybe it doesn't even come from Microsoft...?

      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:12PM (1 child)

        by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:12PM (#1228062) Journal

        "WE ARE ANONYMOUS! We have replaced your Microsoft crap with Linux and OSS. You are welcome."

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:41AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:41AM (#1228102)

          > ... and OSS.

          Please get with the program...this is Free as in Freedom software (which also happens to be Free as in Beer too).

  • (Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:49PM (2 children)

    by AnonTechie (2275) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:49PM (#1228015) Journal

    What happens when other countries too enact such a law as Russia:

    Russian law already allows for the government to authorize—"without consent of the patent holder"—the use of any intellectual property "in case of emergency related to ensuring the defense and security of the state."

    Will we soon see Remote Kill Switches in future versions of software ?

    --
    Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
    • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:51PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:51PM (#1228019)

      Probably useless except as a "first strike", and why would a company that sells software sabotage their own customer base with backdoors?

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:07PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:07PM (#1228024) Journal

      Will we soon see Remote Kill Switches in future versions of software ?

      Not if you don't download it from Russia, or Microsoft, or Apple, or from Second Sight [soylentnews.org]

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 4, Funny) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:51PM (6 children)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:51PM (#1228017) Journal

    I'm sure the one guy in Russia who isn't already pirating everything is stoked!

    • (Score: 2) by bussdriver on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:18PM

      by bussdriver (6876) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:18PM (#1228068)

      How about they promise to actually make it illegal as a sort of bribe to have us look the other way?

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:44PM (4 children)

      by looorg (578) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:44PM (#1228075)

      I guess it's mostly companies. Last time I was there, which was a long time ago, you could still buy dvd/cd with pirated stuff at markets. All out in the open and such. Nobody cared. I guess they cleaned up a bit after that but piracy is still rampant most likely. At least for the public. I guess it's companies (with western connections) that care about proper copies and licenses. Most of them closed down their offices and such now. I wonder if they'll open up eventually, I guess it depends on how long the war goes on and who wins. They might just decide that they had it with us. All those people just took / copied everything before they left the office and are probably now starting new companies that does the exact same things but with a new name.

      So this isn't really going to do much as far as sanctions are concerned. One is almost left wondering if this just isn't another win for Russia. A new golden age of espionage is upon us all or something. If they start to copy software freely I'm fairly sure copying everything else won't be far behind -- hardware, medicine, anything physical really. The old soviets already showed many times that they where great at making copies once they had obtained the real thing or enough blue prints and such (atomic bombs, planes, weapons, rockets ...). So now they won't pay for software, hardware or anything really. They'll just make their own clones. In some regard it's just new markets opening up for them probably. They won't have to play nice with the west anymore and trade with us, they can just trade with Asia and Africa and copy anything they please. So which is the one hurt by sanctions again? Oh right the mega-rich-oligarchs that can't go to their yacht in Monaco and on shopping-sprees in Paris? Buhu for them.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:47AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:47AM (#1228103)

        It seems the sanctions are working here:
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AvtoVAZ#Effects_stemming_from_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine [wikipedia.org]

        The two Lada plants in Russia have just closed due to lack of imported components. Note, the largest stockholder in the Lada plants is the Renault Group (French).

        Is this a car analogy?

        • (Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday March 10 2022, @02:35AM (2 children)

          by looorg (578) on Thursday March 10 2022, @02:35AM (#1228146)

          Hmmmm ... In Putin Russia France sanctions you! .... no no that doesn't have the same ring to it.

          Perhaps they should start a Trabant factory instead. No need for advanced components anymore!

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Reziac on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:58AM (1 child)

            by Reziac (2489) on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:58AM (#1228167) Homepage

            Bring back the Lada. Damn things may be junk but you can't kill 'em.

            --
            And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @04:17AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @04:17AM (#1228485)

              Like you can Russian tanks. They're easier for the farmers to tow.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:10PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:10PM (#1228026)

    If he plays his cards right, Putin can ensure that all the companies that pulled out of Russia never come back.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:32PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:32PM (#1228038)

      Well, they're already nationalizing their assets, so I don't think they care much.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:14PM

      by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:14PM (#1228064) Journal

      OMGerd! How would they survive without McToilets???
      ;)

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:35PM

      by inertnet (4071) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:35PM (#1228070) Journal

      They'll be back as soon as he is retired.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:08PM (10 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:08PM (#1228047) Journal

    When we get tired of being raped by Big Tech, we can pass a similar law. Copyright needs to be rolled back to about 15 years, patents need to be got under control, and all that "imaginary property" becomes public domain in a reasonable time.

    Fok Microsoft, fok Apple, fok Disney, fok all the publishers worldwide, fok the music industry, fok Hollyweird, bend them all over and drill them deep.

    I'll shed no tears for any sales lost as a result of Russia's actions here, or China for that matter. All of Africa and the rest of the poorer nations in the world should do the same.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:40PM (1 child)

      by Rosco P. Coltrane (4757) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:40PM (#1228072)

      When we get tired of being raped by Big Tech, we can pass a similar law

      Quite frankly, regardless of how hateful Russia's war and Putin are, that was my first thought: what's happening to Russia should worry even the most faithful of US allies. The US is demonstrating in no uncertain terms how much control they wield over any country's sovereignty simply by enacting orders that their world-spanning big data monopolies follow without question.

      In other words, if you're in charge of any public service in any country other than the US and you run Windows, Office, Teams, Google Translate, Google drive or any SaaS, you should be tried for treason, because it's akin to giving a foreign power the kill switch to stop your organization functioning completely.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:22PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:22PM (#1228243)

        The "most faithful" allies are out in front and leading the charge on this. Maybe this should wake up the US to the dangers of the "most faithful" allies? Or perhaps it is that in a global interconnected economy if one actor acts in a manner to remove themselves from that economy, they will suffer for it. The obvious solution for them, if they want to march their armies into other countries, is to be isolated from the other economies.

    • (Score: 2) by Kell on Thursday March 10 2022, @08:48AM (7 children)

      by Kell (292) on Thursday March 10 2022, @08:48AM (#1228215)

      It's a fair thought, and I agree that patent terms and especially copyright terms should be limited and practical. However, it's worth reminding folks that patents exist for a reason. I have 30 patents to my name, and they represent decades of work that I could not realise the benefit of myself without the opportunity to have a temporary monopoly to find capital and bring them to market. Without those protections, I wouldn't have done even half the stuff that I've invented to solve valuable real-world problems - there's be no point. Instead I'd have focused on what's interesting to study, even if it doesn't solve people's needs.

      --
      Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:54PM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:54PM (#1228249) Journal

        Got it.

        I don't think that I've ever called for a repeal of either copyright or patents. We just need to end the stupid surrounding both. An entire industry of patent trolling has grown up around the stupid of patents. How stupid must lawmakers be, to have allowed that to happen?

        • (Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday March 15 2022, @12:54AM

          by Kell (292) on Tuesday March 15 2022, @12:54AM (#1229198)

          You and I aren't always in agreement, but on this topic we coincide; we need IP reform globally.

          --
          Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:44PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:44PM (#1228289)

        I'm not necessarily sure we should abolish patents but when I read the overwhelming majority of patents they are all really stupid.

        I recently read a patent on an AI that says something to the extent of if a robot enters a room and scans it and reenters and scans it again and notices that certain objects have moved or are no longer present it can then use that information to help determine if the objects are animate objects.

        The patent said something to the extent of, it can scan to see if an object moves to help determine the nature of the object.

        Uhm ... that's not patent worthy. It's common sense.

        In fact, reading through patents, it is extremely difficult to find examples of good patents. The overwhelming majority of them are stupid.

        Where are the patents that tell me how to build my computer. My smart phone. My car. The respirators that they used at hospitals. etc... The majority of the patents are useless and give zero useful information. They are either broad, vague, obvious to someone NOT trained in the art and they are very far from educational. I have never heard of anyone reading through patents to learn anything because they're not useful. No one would put that they learned engineering, for instance, by reading through patents on their job application. They would get laughed out of the building because those patents aren't educational and present zero useful information.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @09:14PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @09:14PM (#1228377)

          That's also not to mention the USPTO's disregard for prior art when granting patents.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:47PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:47PM (#1228290)

        Also, you claim to have 30 patents. So present to me the patents so that I can analyze them and potentially critique them.

        If someone wants to claim that patents are good because THEY have patents and their patents are worth obtaining let me see what patents you have so that I/we can actually analyze your claim.

        • (Score: 2) by Kell on Thursday March 10 2022, @10:58PM (1 child)

          by Kell (292) on Thursday March 10 2022, @10:58PM (#1228412)

          I'd be glad to; please contact me privately so we can make a time to go through them together. My patents are an eclectic mix regarding aerial robotics (my main field) and sensor technology with applications to mining, sport and medicine.

          --
          Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @03:51AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @03:51AM (#1228479)

            I understand if you don't want to identify yourself publically, I wouldn't either, but if we are to discuss the merits of having patents or not it ought to be done publically. Patents are publically searchable, as they should be, so we should access and discuss them. The system affects us all.

            I'm not so sure that we should abolish patents entirely but I guess my problem is that the patent examiners are probably not trained in the art that they reviewing and so they don't know what's obvious and what's not.

            It seems like the quality of the patents that do get approved is very low. The patents almost ought to teach us how to build cutting edge things that are actually currently on the market and being sold in large quantity from scratch even including source code, schematics, board views, component and materials lists, manufacturing processes that are actually used, structural formulas, etc...

  • (Score: 3, Touché) by jimtheowl on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:35PM (1 child)

    by jimtheowl (5929) on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:35PM (#1228055)
    In soviet russia it is finally year of the desktop on linux.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:01PM (#1228060)

      It's the year of pirated, cracked Windows on the desktop.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by crafoo on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:10AM

    by crafoo (6639) on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:10AM (#1228093)

    The rest of the world has gone around seizing private citizens' properties. Obviously property law doesn't apply, so why should copyrights?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @10:47AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @10:47AM (#1228233)

    "we are boycotting you and you cannot have our new windblows, but please busy the police force you are feeding with catching thieves that are stealing our stuff..."
    -
    "please, everyone turn off all your stuff at high-noon today so our singular solar panel can power nothing and we can win the " 100 percent renewable powered" award.
    srsly? insert emoji-gif with human blood splattering across solarpanels.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:41PM (#1228288)

    And this is why Russia's internet has been cut off and demands are being made to take away their DNS domains.

    Media companies don't give a rat's ass about what's happening in Russia or the Ukraine. It's all good for more clicks. But threaten the copyright monopoly with government sanctioned piracy and watch them circle the wagons and take action.

    The best thing for Russia and the Ukraine right now is to keep the internet open and the information flowing. It's the only way we'll really know what's going on and who needs support. Isolating Russia will just lead is into another cold war full of itchy button pressing fingers.

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