The bill on the compulsory licensing of objects of copyright and adjacent law, including software, will include two new mechanisms for former and new licensists. The bill is planned to be submitted to the State Duma in early February, the Vedomosti reports.
At present, those who have acquired temporary subscriptions or licenses for foreign software cannot update these licenses and are under threat of criminal liability for piracy. The authors of the initiative believe that forced licensing will help to avoid such a situation.
The first licensing mechanism, simplified, is intended for users who had previously bought a license from a supplier. They are invited to appeal to the Russian court and inform that the copyright holder left the country, and there are no Russian analogues of the product, therefore, permission to use such software without a license, deputy Dmitry Kuznetsov explains.
Another mechanism is more complicated and intended for objects of copyright and related rights that have not been used before and are currently not available in Russia. In this case, the company must substantiate the need to use a foreign product through a trial. If the plaintiff manages to prove the need to use, he can use this product without the permission of the copyright holder and send licensed deductions to a special account. (We are talking about ruble accounts in banks provided for by presidential decree for settlements with foreign companies in conditions of sanctions).
In August 2022, Dmitry Kuznetsov submitted to the parliament a bill on a mandatory license of objects of copyright and adjacent law, including not only software, but also video games, films, music and books from countries that Russia considers “unfriendly”. Russian developers criticized the initiative, believing that such a mechanism will not solve the problem of using software. Arpp “domestic software” (unites 240 Russian developers) issued a review to the bill, claiming that it “carries great risks for both users and Russian developers.”
However, in December, the Ministry of Construction announced the intention to compel foreign software, whose affables stopped working in Russia. According to the agency, this will allow the “decriminal” illegal use of foreign companies that have stopped support and updating software in the Russian Federation.