Rightholders and Internet companies signed a new version of the anti-piracy memorandum. The main innovation is tougher measures to counteract pirates.
"Vedomosti" got acquainted with a copy of the document. The key innovation in the new text of the memorandum included a provision to delete from the search results of repeat offenders sites. It will apply to domains, the number of pirated links to which will exceed 100. There is and exception for the legal sites - the media, social networks, websites of public authorities, etc., follows from the document.
Now holders of the rights, who signed the memorandum, have the opportunity to remove links to pages with illegal copies of their works from search results extrajudicially. They are sent to a special register maintained by the Media and Communications Union (MCU). According to the union, more than 100 links to illegal copies of TV shows and movies have been submitted for 20% of domains on the register. In all, more than 40 million links to illegally posted content have been removed from search results in more than three years.
Deleting domains of persistent pirate sites will significantly optimize the cost of copyright owners to protect their rights.
Another important innovation of the memorandum is that it will cover all intellectual property, except photos. Maxim Ryabyko, board member of the Association for Copyrights Protection on the Internet (AZAPI; represents interests of the big Russian publishing houses - AST, Eksmo, Alpina, MIF, Azbuka-Attikus and others) and Nikita Danilov, general director of the National Federation of Music Industry (unites Universal Music Russia, Warner Music Russia and Sony Music Entertainment), had confirmed the agreements.
But the new members will be able to join the memorandum only under two conditions. The first condition is that the new version of the document should come into force. It will happen if Sergei Boyarsky's law drafted on the basis of the memorandum's provisions comes into effect. The parties agreed that the memorandum in its current form will be valid until September 1, 2022. It will be prolonged until March 1, 2023 if the bill is adopted before August 1. The second condition, as follows from the document - the decision on the expansion of the range of right holders must be approved by the majority of the current signatories of the memorandum.
Representatives of Channel One, Gazprom-Media, Sberentartainment, APK&T, AIV, National Media Group and STS Media told Vedomosti that they support the expansion of the circle of rights holders and the new version of the document in general. According to Alexei Byrdin, the general director of AIV, "it is also important to let" foreign rights holders into the memorandum: "Disney, Sony, Universal and other majors, so that they also start protecting their catalogs.
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